DoE bats for law to tap Malampaya fund
THE Department of Energy (DoE) has called for the immediate passage of legislation that will allow the government to tap into its accumulated share in the revenue from the offshore Malampaya natural gas project.
In a briefing on Thursday, Energy Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella said there is an urgent need for a law that will allow the use of the energy resource development fund, which is commonly known as the Malampaya fund.
“The Malampaya fund has a specific use. It’s only for energy resource development… because of that it is seldom used and does not have much benefit now. And yet we have the problem of the universal charge,” he said.
As of 2016, the DoE estimated the Malampaya fund to have reached P235.662 billion, which approximates the accumulated financial obligations, called stranded debts and stranded contract costs, which by law was assigned to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. ( PSALM) to collect. The offshore gas- to- power project west of Palawan was launched in 2001.
Mr. Fuentebella said legislators were receptive to the DoE’s proposal for the Malampaya fund’s use. Further delays in wiping out universal charges means the amount to be collected will continue to balloon, he added.
PSALM was empowered by Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 ( EPIRA) to collect the charges from electricity consumers. It seeks approval from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for the monthly amount to be charged.
Mr. Fuentebella said that although PSALM was granted approval by the ERC to continue collecting 19 centavos from consumers to fully pay for the stranded contract costs of P53.85 billion, it would still be short by P5 billion.
The stranded debts and contract costs where largely incurred by the National Power Corp. when it built facilities to expand the country’s power capacity. The peso’s devaluation against the dollar, delays in the government’s absorption of these financial obligations, and upgrades in transmission assets further bloated the figure.
Including the collection of 6 centavos for stranded debt for a total of 26 centavos a month, PSALM would still be short by P245.5 billion when it reaches the end of its corporate life in 2026, he said.
If the government shoulders these charges through the Malampaya fund, electricity users consuming 200- kilowatthour ( kWh) will realize savings of P52 a month, while those using 500-kWh will save P130 a month, he added.
“We brought it [proposal] up before Congress during hearings. They were receptive,” Mr. Fuentebella said. “It’s just a matter of scheduling and prioritizing.”
He said 2019 would be crucial as more debts would mature by that year.
“So it would be best if a decision is reached before 2019,” he said. —