To ensure compliance with the public offering mandate outlined in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) are collaborating to simplify the securities registration process for generation and distribution companies.
According to a report by Philippine Star, under the proposed Securing and Expanding Capital for Power Generation Operators and Wholesale Electricity and Retail Services (SEC POWERS) guidelines, registration processes for securities owned by these companies will be streamlined.
The ERC stressed that generation companies and distribution utilities have faced challenges in meeting the public offering requirement.
Based on their records, there is a public offering compliance rate of less than 50 percent for the generation sector alone, ERC said.
As mandated by EPIRA, non-publicly listed generation and distribution utilities are required to publicly offer and sell at least 15 percent of their common shares and stocks.
SEC Commissioner Kelvin Lester Lee stated that the proposed SEC policy aims to provide streamlined options for stakeholders seeking to raise capital and publicly list their firms.
Both the ERC and SEC have committed to collaborating on streamlining regulatory processes and establishing a joint framework for EPIRA’s public offering requirement.
ERC Chairperson and CEO Monalisa Dimalanta emphasized the importance of inclusivity and stakeholder input in shaping the regulatory processes, underlining the value of participation in their endeavors.
