Marcos extends PSALM corporate term to 2036

(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has extended the corporate life of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) for 10 years to 2036.

Republic Act (RA) 12179, which Marcos signed on April 15, amended Section 50 of RA 9136, otherwise known as the Electric Power Industry Reform (Epira) Act of 2001.

Under the new law, PSALM will continue to exist for a period of 10 years from the expiration of its original term on June 26, 2026.

"All assets held by it, all moneys and properties belonging to it, and all its liabilities outstanding upon the expiration of its term of existence shall revert to and be assumed by the National Government," RA 12179 read.

"PSALM Corp. shall be prohibited from collecting or charging consumers for stranded costs and stranded debts during its extended corporate life, except as otherwise approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission prior to the date of the passage of this Act," it added.

PSALM was created in 2001 through the Epira Law, which sought to restructure the power sector previously monopolized by the National Power Corp. (NPC).

It was entrusted to formulate and implement a privatization plan for the government's energy assets previously held by the NPC.

The government-owned and -controlled corporation also took over all existing NPC generation assets, liabilities, independent power producers contracts, real estate and other disposable assets. It is mandated to manage the orderly sale, disposition and privatization of these assets, with the objective of liquidating all NPC financial obligations and stranded contract costs.

PSALM's assets include the 796.64-megawatt Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan hydroelectric power plant complex in Laguna.