Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi asked San Miguel Corp. to honor its contractual obligation to the government as the administrator of the 1,200-megawatt Ilijan natural gas power plant in Batangas province.
“We should collect it…. San Miguel has the capacity to pay for it,” Cusi told reporters.
Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., where Cusi sits as vice chairman, is in a legal dispute with San Miguel over unpaid generation payments.
“That is the contract, they have to pay. If they want the government to honor the contract, they also have to honor their contract,” Cusi said.
San Miguel is contesting the computation of its obligations with PSALM, which manages the assets and liabilities of National Power Corp. Cusi said the case was pending with the courts.
PSALM last year elevated the case against San Miguel’s power unit to the Court of Appeals to seek the termination of the 1,200-megawatt Ilijan natural gas power plant independent power producer administrator contract.