PSALM hands over P46M to LGUs to lower power rates

GOVERNMENT-LED Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) on Thursday said it remitted its quarterly share in the national wealth to local government units (LGU) hosting renewable power plants to bring down electricity costs.

The agency tasked to privatize the government’s power assets handed over P46 million to host LGUs in Luzon and Mindanao, 80% of which must be used to lower costs of electricity, as called for by Republic Act No. 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.

“We did our best to process the releases immediately and we even coursed them through bank transfers in order for the LGUs to access the funds and perhaps utilize them for their Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) response activities,” PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Irene B. Garcia said in a statement.

LGUs in Benguet, Laguna, Pangasinan, Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur are beneficiaries of the PSALM shares.

According to the Local Government Code, LGUs are entitled to a 40% share of proceeds from energy assets, such as petroleum, coal, geothermal, hydrothermal, and wind resources, collected in the past fiscal year.

These proceeds are directly routed to treasurers of concerned provincial, city, municipal, or barangay.

The agency’s shares in national wealth are released quarterly, with the next remittance to be done in July.

Recently, PSALM extended its order putting on hold the payments of fees on power billings and ancillary services which due dates fall during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), following the recent advisories of the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission on bills settlements within the energy sector.

It has provided distribution utilities, industries, ecozones, and government entities with a grace period for paying said fees. It likewise allowed them to pay the deferred bills in installments in the next four billing months starting mid-May.

The ECQ, initially to end April 14, was extended until the end of the month. — Adam J. Ang