PSALM says overdue receivables hit P95 billion

THE Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) reported on Wednesday that it had accumulated a total of P95.42 billion of overdue receivables in 2019 from electricity distribution companies and electric cooperatives.

In her presentation during a hearing led by the House committee on public accounts, PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Irene Joy J. Besido-Garcia reported the following uncollected fees: P35.45 billion for power and universal charges, P33.62 billion for independent power producer administrator, and P26.36 billion for “others.”

The P26.36 billion worth of PSALM receivables include financial obligations by the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), Independent Electric Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, and First Gen Hydro Power Corp.

Anakalusugan Rep. Michael T. Defensor, who chairs the committee, said in a press briefing on Wednesday that PSALM’s receivables are classified into three.

“Una, du’n sa power cost and utilities cost. Ito po ‘yung mga utang ng kooperatiba at kung ano-anong korporasyon sa PSALM. ‘Yung pangalawa po, ito ‘yung mga utang ng NPC (National Power Corp.) na nilipat sa PSALM. At yung pangatlo, ito po yung mga kontrata po nila na pinirmahan nung nabuhay ang PSALM,” he said.

(First are the receivables for power cost and utilities cost. These are the debts of cooperatives and different corporations to PSALM. The second are the debts of the National Power Corp. that were transferred to PSALM. And third, are the contracts that were signed when PSALM was created.)

Mr. Defensor said Meralco agreed to pay its financial obligation to PSALM, which amounts to almost P15 billion, but was unable to do so due to litigation cases in the Supreme Court.

According to Ms. Besido-Garcia, if PSALM fails to collect the unpaid receivables, the agency will transfer these to the national government at the end of its corporate life.

“It will end on June 2026, so if we are unable to collect because we are stuck in court because of some litigation that’s still ongoing and dragging on, what will happen is that we will transfer all these unpaid receivables to the national government,” she told reporters.

Ms. Besido-Garcia said that PSALM is still trying to collect the unpaid receivables despite the litigation cases.

“When you are in litigation, you cannot say whether you will win or lose. So what we’re doing now is we are basically trying to collect. So I wouldn’t say we will not be able to collect because some of them… even if there are disputes in court, there’s always a chance to be able to collect,” she said. — Genshen Espedido