The European Union's securities watchdog will submit plans by Sept. 22 to ease the liquidity shortages faced by energy companies.

Energy companies are facing solvency problems because of the increasing amount of margin, or cash they must place in clearing houses if they fail to meet their future sales contracts.

The European Commission said it has asked the European Securities and Markets Authority to consider and submit appropriate amendments to expand the list of acceptable collateral beyond cash, as well as the conditions under which bank guarantees can be accepted.

ESMA is invited to submit a report with specific proposals by September 22, the Commission said in a statement. The EC said it is also working on an additional transaction-based price benchmark that more accurately reflects the market for gas imports, including EU gas imports.