THE Department of Finance (DoF), through Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd, has put its foot down and demanded the collection of more than P59 billion in unpaid obligations, some dating back more than a decade, from independent power producers and electric cooperatives. The order is the perfect occasion to fix the chronic financial mess and drain on public resources — which the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) represents — once and for all.

Most of the overdue accounts were transferred from the National Power Corp. (Napocor) to Psalm when the Electric Power Reform Act (Epira) of 2001 was enacted. These are unpaid loans or bills for electricity supply, plus interest and penalties. Psalm was created by the Epira to manage the divestment of government-owned electricity infrastructure, including generation plants and distribution facilities.