STATE-RUN Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) failed to sell its Diliman property in Quezon City after its auction drew no successful bids, stalling its plan to generate at least P11 billion.
“We have already had a failed bidding for the Diliman property,” PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Edward A. Dela Serna told reporters on Thursday.
PSALM has sought to have a straight sale for the Diliman property through a public bidding to raise at least P11.09 billion.
The overall property spans 5.19 hectares, of which 3.97 hectares or 39,698 square meters (sq.m.) will be sold.
Excluded from the sale is 12,250 sq.m., with 5,000 sq.m. allocated for PSALM’ use and 7,250 sq.m. occupied by the Systems Operations and National Control Center of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).
NGCP also has the exclusive right to use National Power Corp. (NPC) Building 2 under its concession agreement until Jan. 15, 2034.
While three entities expressed interest in bidding for the Diliman property sale, they did not pay the participation fee, Mr. Dela Serna said.
Mr. Dela Serna said the state-run firm may conduct a second round of bidding.
“Looks like (the second bidding will happen) next year since we need to develop a new set of procedures and marketing plan,” he said.
Under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, PSALM is tasked with privatizing government-owned power assets and managing the proceeds to settle the NPC’s financial obligations.
PSALM’s corporate term, initially set to expire in June 2026, has been extended by 10 years after a measure granting the extension lapsed into law in April 2025.
For 2025, PSALM reported a P13.4-billion decrease in its financial obligations, bringing its remaining debt to P260.6 billion.
The reduced debt was attributed to several transactions, including the privatization of the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan hydroelectric power plants for P36.3 billion. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera