The American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham) is throwing full backing to the legislative measures which had been outlined by President Marcos in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) as the next priority policies to be pursued by the government.

In the energy sector, the key piece of legislation that the American investors are keen on supporting would be the proposed amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), the guiding law on the restructuring of the country’s electric power industry.

“We appreciate that the President highlighted EPIRA amendments to help boost energy security and economic development,” AmCham stressed.

It is worth noting that the country’s wobbly power supply situation and expensive electricity rates had been among the recurring major concerns of investors – especially those that have been targeting to set up manufacturing facilities and data centers in the country.

Apart from the power industry reform law, AmCham is also amenable to the enactment of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy or the propounded CREATE MORE law “to update the country’s investment incentive policies to strengthen competitiveness.”

For the targeted policy revisions under EPIRA, in particular, Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla previously indicated that one of the major intent to that is extending the corporate life of state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) – because under the current law, that will only be under existence until June 2026.

The energy chief expounded that stretching PSALM’s corporate longevity will be vital in the targeted rehabilitation of the Agus hydropower complex in Mindanao, as the government-owned firm could stand as the counterparty in any agreement that the State will be entering into for that facility’s overhaul.

Nevertheless, there are quarters in the industry that have been sounding off that terminating PSALM’s life by 2026 could be the most economically beneficial option for the country and the consumers – because it will entail less cost if it’s remaining assets and liabilities may instead be transferred to the national government.

And for the Agus plant, it was emphasized that it can be placed under the supervision of the National Power Corporation (NPC), which to-date is still in charge of operating and maintaining the Agus-Pulangui hydropower complex in Mindanao.

With extended corporate life for PSALM, the government will continue to shell out funding for its operations, despite the very limited function that it now renders for the power industry – and the company’s expenses have been adding up into the electric bills of ratepayers.

Another major goal in the EPIRA amendment would be to reinforce the regulatory function of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), so it can stand as an independent and efficient regulating entity of the evolving energy sector.

One of the previous proposals would be to push for ERC’s fiscal independence, but there are concerns raised that such must be balanced carefully, so that the fees to be collected by the regulatory body will not unduly burden the electricity consumers.