SEC Form 45b-3

SEC Form 45b-3 was used to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concerning extensions of credit already filed pertaining to electric utilities.

An SEC Form 45b-3 filing was made pursuant to the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA). Also known as the Wheeler-Rayburn Act, it confined electric utilities to operate under state regulation in a single state. It also forced utilities to divest to become integrated systems within a limited region. And, it prevented regulated utility holding companies from doing unregulated business. PUHCA remained in effect until it was reformed by the Energy Policy Act of 1992. PUHCA was repealed in February 2006, following enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) addressed a broad array of energy production issues in the United States, including: energy efficiency; renewable energy; oil and gas; coal; tribal energy; nuclear matters and security; vehicles and motor fuels, including ethanol; hydrogen; electricity; energy tax and lending incentives; hydropower and geothermal energy and climate change technology. EPAct had three principal policy goals relating to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). It affirmed competitive wholesale power markets as national policy, strengthened FERC’s regulatory powers, and mandated development of stronger energy infrastructure. EPAct granted FERC new responsibilities and authority by modifying the Federal Power Act, the Natural Gas Act and the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). The act granted FERC authority to oversee mandatory reliability standards for U.S. electricity grid and to expand and modernize it. FERC issued electric transmission pricing reforms to promote investment in energy infrastructure and benefit consumers.

Federal, state, and local entities in the United States determine energy policy for production, distribution, and consumption. Policy is crafted through legislation, international treaties, subsidies and incentives to investment, guidelines for energy conservation, and taxation, among other means. State-based clean energy and other incentive programs influence overall policy as well. These layers of energy policy are complicated and interconnected with many stakeholders including citizens, elected state and federal officials, government agencies, national and state-level interest groups, corporations, and think tanks. Economic and industry factors that also combine to shape energy policy include the resource availability, geography, exploration and production costs, consumer demand as well as environmental impact. Included in the mix for electricity generation and policy are coal, oil, natural gas, wind, solar, and nuclear power. Coal proponents believe that its abundance over natural gas and oil produces lower-cost electricity.