Power firms need to list with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) to be deemed compliant with the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (ERIRA), the chief of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said Wednesday
The ERC on Oct. 16 announced the simplified rules for power generation firms and electric distributors to comply with the public offering requirement (POR), which mandates industry players to sell at least 15 percent of their ownership to the public either through listing with the PSE or actually selling stakes to the public.
ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Francis Saturnino Juan, during the 3rd Philippine Hydro Summit and Exhibit in a hotel in Quezon City, said the revised rules are more realistic and easier for the companies to heed, and ensure predictability.
“The only way you will be compliant is if you list in the PSE, because listing in PSE is deemed compliance already,” he told summit participants.
Juan explained that ERC has been authorized under the EPIRA to issue rules and regulations that will support the restructuring and modernization of the power industry.
“This is our way of supporting that, of complying with that legal standard in the rules, he said, noting also that this will allow the public to participate in the energy sector.
First 100 days
Meanwhile, the ongoing reforms in the ERC will continue to ensure transparent and streamlined procedures, Juan said.
In a statement issued on his 100th day in office, Juan noted that “our mission is straightforward: to regulate the power industry in a way that is effective, efficient, and prioritizes the welfare of consumers.”
Thus, his move to address decade-long delays in the rate reset process for private distribution utilities (PDUs) under the performance-based regulation (PBR) framework and the implementation of the Rationalized Rules for Setting Distribution Wheeling Rates (RRDWR), to facilitate the restart of the reset process for all PDUs.
“We start on a clean slate so that future rate-setting under the PBR becomes forward-looking once more, where the distribution rates will be set using forecasts of efficient costs and sound regulatory principles,” he said.
It is also during his term that the ERC approved the new Feed-in Tariff Allowance (FIT-All) rate, made just this month.
“This decision strikes a careful balance—supporting the growth of renewable energy the country needs, while keeping electricity rates affordable for Filipino households and businesses,” Juan said.
Other reforms under the current ERC administration are simplification of net metering procedures to four core requirements and standardized rules across DUs, and development of other key resolutions that I include those that govern the review process for the Ancillary Services Procurement Agreements procured by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, and the proposed resolution to expand the coverage of the Lifeline Program, in response to the call of the President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in his 2025 State of the Nation Address.
ABOITIZ POWER PHOTO