Streamlined securities registration for power entities
By Richmond Mercurio – November 28, 2023 | 12:00am
from The Philippine Star
Through a collaboration with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has come up with the proposed guidelines dubbed as the Securing and Expanding Capital for Power Generation Operators and Wholesale Electricity and Retail Services or SEC POWERS.
STAR / File
MANILA, Philippines — The registration process for securities owned by generation and distribution companies is set to be streamlined, enabling seamless compliance with the public offering mandate stipulated in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001.
Through a collaboration with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has come up with the proposed guidelines dubbed as the Securing and Expanding Capital for Power Generation Operators and Wholesale Electricity and Retail Services or SEC POWERS.
The guidelines seek to streamline the registration process of securities belonging to generation and distribution companies, facilitating a vital step towards compliance with the public offering requirement mandated under Republic Act 9136 or the EPIRA.
The SEC POWERS is intended to complement the ERC’s current rules and regulations governing the public offering requirement by simplifying one method of compliance with the public offering requirement.
According to the ERC, generation companies and distribution utilities have been encountering issues with the requirement.
Based on its records, the ERC said compliance rate to the public offering requirement is less than 50 percent for the generation sector alone.
The EPIRA mandates non-publicly listed generation and distribution utilities companies to offer and sell to the public a portion of not less than 15 percent of their common shares and stocks.
SEC commissioner Kelvin Lester Lee said the proposed SEC policy would provide streamlined options for stakeholders seeking to raise capital and list their firms publicly.
The ERC and SEC earlier said they would explore avenues of collaboration in order to streamline regulatory processes and create a joint framework for the public offering requirement mandated by EPIRA.
Last week, the ERC and SEC conducted a public consultation to gather feedback from over 100 representatives of generation companies and distribution utilities.
“Here at the ERC, we put premium on the value of participation and inclusivity. In all our endeavors, we see to it that your opinions and recommendations would form part of processes and systems that we create, ERC chairperson and CEO Monalisa Dimalanta said.
