ERC junks PSALM bid

MANILA, Philippines - The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the state-owned regulator for the power sector, has disallowed the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) from charging electricity consumers for the stranded debts incurred by the National Power Corp. (Napocor).

PSALM, the government corporation formed to privatize Napocor’s assets and manage its liabilities, wanted to recover Napocor’s stranded debts amounting to P65 billion by imposing an additional 3.13-centavo per kilowatt-hour on consumers.

This would have translated to an additional P6 in the electricity bills of a typical 200 kwh household.

However, the ERC thumbed down PSALM’s petition, saying there would be no additional universal charge to be imposed on top of the 19-centavo universal charge the ERC approved Tuesday.

The 19-centavo universal charge is for the contract costs incurred by Napocor from its agreements with independent power producers.

Napocor’s stranded contract cost refers to the excess of the contracted cost of electricity under the eligible contracts of Napocor with IPPs over the actual selling price of the contracted energy output of such contracts in the market.