On 4 June 2024, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued the Revised Omnibus Guidelines Governing the Award and Administration of Renewable Energy Contracts and the Registration of Renewable Energy Developers (Department Circular No. DC2024-06-0018). The Revised Omnibus Guidelines amend the previous set of guidelines (i.e., Department Circular No. DC2019-10-0013) to integrate the latest policies and issuances from the DOE for an effective and efficient award and administration of Renewable Energy (RE) Contracts and registration of RE Developers in view of the increased interest of investors in this sector.

Excerpt: On 5 December 2023, the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code of the Philippines (“PPP Code”) was enacted into law. The PPP Code was enacted to further the State’s policy to provide an enabling environment for the private sector to mobilize its resources to finance, design, construct, operate, and maintain infrastructure or development projects and services. The PPP Code provides for, among others, (i) a unified framework for both national and local PPP projects, (ii) stricter timelines for the evaluation and approval of PPP projects, and (iii) updated thresholds and requirements for approval of national and local PPP projects.

On 15 November 2022, the Department of Energy issued Department Circular No. 2022-11-0034 to amend Section 19 of the Rules and Regulations Implementing Republic Act No. 9513, otherwise known as the Renewable Energy Act of 2008. The amendments remove Filipino ownership requirements previously imposed on the exploration, development and utilization of solar, wind, hydro and ocean or tidal energy resources, to allow full foreign ownership.