State-owned Power Sector Assets & Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) said that San Miguel Corporation unit South Premiere Power Corporation (SPPC) has overdue payables worth Php 34.04 billion as of June 30.
PSALM said that the amount is based on their computations on the generation payments for the 1200 megawatt (MW) Ilijan Natural Gas Combined Cycle Plant, taking into consideration the prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
The statement came after SPPC, San Miguel Energy Corp. (SMEC), and the Manila Electric Co. (MERALCO) filed for a temporary price adjustment under their 2019 power supply agreements (PSA) for cost recovery amid the staggering increase in fuel prices.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said that the motion is still under review.
“SPPC’s computations of generation payments were based on its power supply agreement with Meralco, of which PSALM is not a party,” PSALM said in a statement.
“While SPPC has already remitted to PSALM about PHP285.37 Billion as of 30 June 2022, it is PSALM’s view that these remittances of SPPC were insufficient because they were not based on the WESM prices,” PSALM added.
Currently, there is an ongoing case in the Regional Trial Court Mandaluyong between PSALM and SPPC to determine the correct computation of the generation payments, whether it’s the calculated generation charges based on WESM prices or the fixed-rate approved by the ERC.
PSALM took over the National Power Corporation’s power generation assets, including the Ilijan plant, by virtue of Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA). The build-operate-transfer contract expired in June.