STATE-RUN Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) said its outstanding financial obligation stood at P283.28 billion as of the end of May.
This amount represents a decrease of P957.32 billion from the P1.24-trillion debt accumulated in 2003, according to PSALM’s data.
The latest financial obligation figure is lower than the P292.49 billion recorded as of the end of April.
The company said the reduction was a result of the “continuous implementation of liability management programs and strategies.”
Its total debt stands at P247.76 billion, while its lease obligations to independent power producers was at P35.52 billion.
In terms of currency composition, approximately 42% of PSALM’s financial obligations amount to P119.34 billion in US dollars, while the remaining 58%, totaling P163.94 billion, are denominated in pesos.
PSALM was established under Republic Act No. 9136, also known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001, with the mandate to oversee the privatization of generation and transmission assets formerly held by the National Power Corp. and the National Transmission Corp.
Originally slated to conclude in June 2026, or 25 years after the enactment of EPIRA, PSALM’s corporate existence would end. In the event of its dissolution, all assets and liabilities would revert to the National Government.
Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto has said that the corporate life of PSALM should be extended by possibly another 25 years as it still has a lot of assets for sale and financial obligations to settle.
Assets under PSALM include the 796.64-megawatt (MW) Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydroelectric power plant complex in Laguna.
The CBK hydro facilities are currently under a 25-year build-rehabilitate-operate-transfer scheme run by independent power producer CBK Power Co. Ltd., which will expire in 2026.
The company has also a rehabilitation and asset management plan for the Agus-Pulangi hydropower complex which is targeted for implementation in 2026.
The complex consists of seven run-of-river hydroelectric power plants located in southern and central Mindanao with a combined installed capacity of 1,001.1 MW. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
