SEC Form U-3A-2

What Was SEC Form U-3A-2?

The now-out of date SEC Form U-3A-2 was required to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by any holding company that wanted to buy or converge with a utility company, and thus sought an exemption from the Public Utilities Company Holding Act (PUHCA) of 1935.

The 1935 law introduced new regulations for public utilities after a number of these companies collapsed in the wake of the Great Depression.

The law stayed in place until it was canceled and replaced with the section of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The Federal Regulatory Energy Commission turned into the primary regulatory authority for utilities under the 2005 law.

Understanding SEC Form U-3A-2

PUHCA, otherwise called the Wheeler-Rayburn Act, really separated the country's greatest electric companies to limit the damage of a single company failure. It ended a historic fight among private and public elements for control over the distribution of utilities to consumers.

SEC Form U-3A-2 was one of several required SEC filings made under PUHCA. It required a holding company to detail the sale of electricity and natural gas by any of its subsidiaries during the previous year. This form was filed annually before March 1. The exemption fell under rule U-3A-2 of PUHCA.

What PUHCA Changed

The Public Utilities Company Holding Act of 1935 permitted states to regulate utilities and keep unregulated businesses from operating in regulated utility businesses. A utility company could never again lay out or purchase a utility company. Furthermore, utilities were restricted to serving a single geographic area, usually a state.

Companies that owned 10% or all the more a utility company needed to register with the SEC, giving point by point financials and different documents. Holding companies registered with the SEC could claim just a single integrated utility system unless they received an exemption from the SEC.

This was a direct response to the legendary collapse of the Middle West Utilities Company, a 39-state electric holding company that failed, ruining the financial existences of thousands of small investors.

Energy Policy Act of 2005

The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, which was part of the Energy Policy Act around the same time, replaced the 1935 law. The new law moved primary oversight authority for utilities from the SEC to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The energy agency must now support acquisitions or mergers of utilities by companies in different industries.

Features

• Its job was moved to the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission in 2005.
• Holding companies that sought to enter the utility business were required to file SEC Form U-3A-2.
• The SEC no longer takes part in regulating utility companies.