PSALM counts on CBK sale, Agus-Pulangi concession to wipe out its obligations

STATE-RUN Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) said it is optimistic about bringing down its outstanding obligations to nearly zero before the end of its extended corporate life.

- Sheldeen Joy Talavera

"I am optimistic that we will be able to reduce the obligations in PSALM to close to zero at the end of the 10-year life," PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Edward A. Dela Serna told reporters last week.

Created under Republic Act No. 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, PSALM was mandated to privatize government-owned power assets and manage the proceeds to settle the financial obligations of the National Power Corp. (Napocor).

The agency's corporate term, initially set to expire in June 2026, has been extended by 10 years after a measure granting the extension lapsed into law in April.

Data from PSALM showed that it had reduced Napocor's financial obligations to P262 billion as of June, down from a peak of P1.2 trillion in 2003.