The Aboitiz conglomerate has its streak of luck when it comes to cornering appointments in the energy sector – as its another executive, Dennis Edward dela Serna, has been named president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM), a state-run company that is in-charge of privatizing the assets of the National Power Corporation (NPC) as well as managing its outstanding liabilities.

Dela Serna worked with PSALM for six years when it was a newly established company, then he subsequently moved to Aboitiz Power Corporation and has worked with that firm for the longest time.

Prior to his appointment at PSALM, Dela Serna was First Vice President for Regulatory Affairs at Aboitiz Power. He just resigned from his post on the day of his appointment on September 28 this year.

In a statement by PSALM, it noted that the new CEO “will lead PSALM in optimizing the proceeds from the sale of power generation and real estate assets, settling the outstanding financial obligations and liabilities of PSALM, and administering the universal charge, among other urgent matters besetting the corporation.”

According to PSALM, its new top executive has experience in regulatory, contract management, financial modeling, and valuation in the power industry.

One of the key mandates of PSALM is to privatize the remaining assets of NPC – and Aboitiz Power has always been very vocal on its interest to acquire the remaining power assets of the government – including the Casecnan as well as the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydro power plants, when these are placed at the auction block.

The Aboitiz group has also been setting its interest on the proposed rehabilitation as well as in the eventual divestment of the Agus-Pulangi hydropower facilities in Mindanao, considerably a ‘prized asset’ of the government.

Given the current state of the power sector when it comes to energy official appointments, the other industry players can just feebly wish at this point that the acquisitiveness of one competitor may not result in an extremely tilted playing field in the industry.

Dela Serna is already the third official in the energy sector who came from Aboitiz Power – the initial appointments had been Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla and Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chairperson Monalisa C. Dimalanata.

Aboitiz Equity Ventures CEO Sabin Aboitiz is the lead adviser of the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC), a body comprising of business tycoons who accompanied President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his recent trips to Indonesia, Singapore and New York.

In a statement to the media, Aboitiz Power said “We believe President Marcos Jr. and his administration have chosen wisely as Dennis is very well suited for the role,’ with the company adding that “we are confident that Dennis will fulfill his new role in government with the utmost professionalism, integrity and transparency.”