Power firms, utilities will soon be forced to go public

All power generation and transmission companies, as well as local distribution utilities, will have to go public, after the Energy Regulatory Commission issued the final rules enforcing this policy.

In a resolution, the ERC said unlisted generation companies and utilities would be forced to offer and sell to the public at least 15 percent of their common shares of stock.

According to the ERC, power firms and utilities may choose to list with the Philippine Stock Exchange. They may also consider other accredited stock exchanges where they can directly offer a portion of registered enterprises’ capital stock to the public and/or their employees. If they choose the second option, the companies would need to secure the approval of the Board of Investments.

However, the offer of common shares of stock through an employee stock option plan or any other similar plans will not be considered a public offering.

Also, generation companies under a build-operate-and-transfer scheme will not be considered in compliance with the public offering requirement.

For existing companies, such public offering will have to be implemented not later than five years after the rules take effect. New firms will need to implement their respective public offerings not later than five years from the issuance of their certificates of compliance.

The rules will take effect 15 days after publication in a major newspaper, said ERC executive director Francis Saturnino Juan.

According to the ERC, the listing of stock is meant to enhance the inflow of private capital and broaden the ownership base of the power generation, transmission and distribution facilities. It is also meant to protect public interest as it is affected by rates and services of the distribution utilities and other power providers.