Administration of Universal Charge
Lighting the countryside: PSALM continues to significantly contribute to government efforts to provide a steady and reliable supply of electricity in the country’s far-flung areas.
Communities in these areas get much-needed electric power through PSALM’s prudent management and disposal of the collections from the Universal Charge (UC) for Missionary Electrification (UC-ME).
A non-bypassable charge mandated under Section 34 of the EPIRA, the UC is imposed on electricity consumers for the following purposes:1. Missionary electrification; 2. Payment for stranded debts and stranded contract costs; 3. An environmental charge for watershed rehabilitation and management; 4. Equalization of taxes and royalties applied to indigenous or renewable sources of energy vis-à-vis imported energy fuels; and 5. A charge to account for all forms of cross-subsidies. |
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At present, only the UC-ME and the UC for Environment and Watershed Rehabilitation and Management (UC-EWRM) amounting to PhP0.0025 per kilowatt-hour are imposed on and are being collected from electricity consumers.
The UC is collected monthly by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines and the distribution utilities based on the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). The collections are remitted to PSALM every 15th of the following month.UC-Missionary Electrification and UC- Environment and Watershed Rehabilitation and Management
The ERC approved the missionary electrification component of the UC on 20 December 2002, and the environmental charge component on 02 April 2003.
On 13 March 2003, the ERC mandated PSALM to establish a special trust fund (STF) for the UC. The internal guidelines for the disbursement of the STF were approved by the PSALM board on 17 February 2004.
Status of Funds as of 31 July 2012
Total UC-ME and UC-EWRM remittances to PSALM as of 31 July 2012 amounted to PhP24.248 billion. Of this amount, PhP23.494 billion was disbursed by PSALM to National Power Corporation-Small Power Utilities Group (NPC-SPUG) and NPC for missionary electrification and environment and watershed rehabilitation and management in accordance with the provisions of the EPIRA.
As of the same period, total interest earnings from deposits and placements of UC funds amounted to PhP0.111 billion. The UC fund, thus, has a balance of PhP0.865 billion as of 31 July 2012.
| Universal Charge Remittances, Interests & Disbursements As of 31 July 2012 (In PhP Billion) |
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| Particulars | Remittances | Interest | Disbursements | Balance |
| Special Trust Fund -Missionary Electrification | 23.139 |
0.043 |
23.155 |
0.027 |
| Special Trust Fund –Environment and Watershed Rehabilitation and Management | 1.109 |
0.068 |
0.339 |
0.838 |
| Total | 24.248 | 0.111 | 23.494 | 0.865 |
Collections Covering the Period January–July 2012
For the period January to July 2012, PSALM received PhP4.037 billion in UC remittances, broken down as follows:
| UC Remittances to PSALM For the Period January to July 2012 (In PhP Billion) |
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| Month | UC- ME | UC-EWRM | Total |
| January | 0.512 | 0.012 | 0.524 |
| February | 0.547 | 0.012 | 0.559 |
| March | 0.539 | 0.012 | 0.551 |
| April | 0.572 | 0.013 | 0.585 |
| May | 0.560 | 0.012 | 0.572 |
| June | 0.616 | 0.014 | 0.630 |
| July | 0.603 | 0.013 | 0.616 |
| Total | 3.949 | 0.088 | 4.037 |
Disbursements Covering the Period January-July 2012
For the period January to July 2012, PSALM disbursed to NPC-SPUG the amount of PhP3.934 billion, broken down as follows:
| UC-ME Disbursements of PSALM For the Period January to July 2012 (In PhP Billion) |
|
| Month | Amount |
| January | 0.509 |
| February | 0.535 |
| March | 0.545 |
| April | 0.570 |
| May | 0.555 |
| June | 0.585 |
| July | 0.635 |
| Total | 3.934 |