Electric cooperatives on Thursday asked Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. to explain its ballooning debt.
PSALM earlier said in a Senate hearing that the debt it assumed from National Power Corp. had reached P450 billion, with another P34 billion in interest.
The debts are reflected in the stranded contract costs that appear in consumers’ electricity bill.
“We demand a no-nonsense examination of PSALM’s fund utilization in light of its statements before the Senate. In particular, how does PSALM manage funds from the sale of power sector assets? Were their expenditures in accordance with the Electric Power Industry Reform Act? Did the proceeds from the sale of these assets really used, as prescribed by Epira?” Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association president Presley De Jesus said in a statement.
A proposal by Senator Ralph Recto aims to tap the P204-billion Malampaya Fund to reduce the stranded cost and ease the burden of consumers.