Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chairperson and CEO Atty. Francis Saturnino Juan said the commission has significantly accelerated key regulatory approvals as it seeks to improve investor confidence in the Philippine power sector.

Speaking at the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) Luncheon Meeting on June 25, 2026 at Dusit Thani Manila, Juan said the ERC wants to work with European companies not only as a regulator, but as a partner in enabling the country’s energy transition.

Juan said the commission issued 168 final approvals for power supply agreement applications from August 2025 to May 2026, compared with only six in the comparable 10-month period before the current commission.

He also said capital expenditure approvals rose from six to 121, while rulemaking resolutions increased from 14 to 35.

“These are not incremental improvements. They represent a fundamental change in how the Commission operates,” Juan said.

Juan said delays in power supply agreements and capital expenditure approvals have historically slowed power plant development, transmission and distribution investments, and the broader project pipeline.

He added that slow, opaque, inconsistent, or unpredictable regulation ultimately affects households and businesses when investment stalls and bottlenecks accumulate.

Juan also highlighted transmission constraints as one of the most common frustrations of energy investors, particularly renewable energy developers whose projects cannot fully deliver capacity without timely grid connections.

To address this, he cited ERC Resolution No. 18, which allows qualified generation companies and other entities to finance and construct point-to-point limited transmission facilities needed to connect projects to the grid.

“The consumer is protected, but the investment is enabled,” Juan said, noting that the ERC will retain prudency review authority before any cost recovery is allowed.

Juan also pointed to market reforms expanding consumer choice, including the lowering of the Retail Competition and Open Access eligibility threshold to 100 kilowatts.

He said the lower threshold would allow more businesses, including mid-sized offices, commercial buildings, hotels, and light manufacturing facilities, to choose their own electricity suppliers.

On consumer-driven clean energy, Juan said net metering registrations increased by 243.56% after the ERC streamlined the process.

He said the country now has 23,331 qualified end-users under net metering, with around 228,766 kilowatts peak connected to the grid.

“That is not a marginal improvement. That is a structural transformation in the accessibility of solar in this country,” Juan said.

The ECCP said the luncheon gathered energy industry leaders and members of the European-Philippine business community to discuss energy security, the energy transition, and the ERC’s role in supporting long-term investments.

Juan said European companies bring capital, standards, technologies, and experience from advanced energy markets, including offshore wind, energy storage, smart grids, and energy efficiency.

He also invited ECCP members to take part in ERC consultations on future rules covering offshore wind, storage, prosumer frameworks, demand response, and other energy transition policies.

How can faster regulatory approvals and clearer market rules help attract long-term energy investments to the Philippines?

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