Another Leviste firm faces up to P150-M penalty
Solar Para Sa Bayan Corp. (SPSB), a firm backed by billionaire lawmaker Leandro Leviste, faces up to P150 million in penalties as regulators begin a probe into its alleged illegal and high power charges.
Based on its initial investigation, Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chair Francis Saturnino Juan on Tuesday said the solar company had three violations and “the fines we can impose are P50,000 to P50 million per violation.”
These are the lack of an authority to operate, failure to secure a certificate of compliance, and charging unapproved electricity rates.
Based on a show cause order, promulgated on Jan. 30, the commission is demanding an explanation from the Leviste-led group over several complaints against its alleged expensive power rates.
The ERC said SPSB has been charging and collecting electricity rates from residents of Paluan, Occidental Mindoro, since 2018.
“Records clearly show that respondent SPSB Corp. has not applied for, nor been granted, any authority to operate, certificate of compliance, or provisional authority to operate for its operations,” the order read.
The commission stressed that SPSB’s franchise mandates it to “secure ERC approval of its retail rates prior to charging the same to end-users.”
The order did not mention the alleged high rates being collected, but in an earlier TV interview, residents in Paluan claimed that they were charged up to P18 per kilowatt hour (kWh), or way above its promise of P3 per kWh.
The company has 15 days from the receipt of the order to answer the allegations.
It was also directed to submit a sample of consumer bills every month from 2018 until the time it ceased its operations in Paluan.
SPSB was previously granted a 25-year non-exclusive franchise under then President Rodrigo Duterte.
Under its franchise, the firm can develop microgrids and tap renewable energy sources to supply electricity to remote, unviable, unserved or underserved communities.
Political pressure
Leviste has linked allegations against him to the so-called Cabral files and said he would respond to allegations of violations in the proper forum.
The files purportedly belonged to the late former Public Works Undersecretary Catalina Cabral, who has been identified as a central figure in the alleged irregularities involving flood control projects.
“Since September, I have been warned that cases would be filed against me if I release the ‘Cabral Files,’ and told to remain silent for my own good,” he said in a statement. “I respect government employees and will respond to their statements in the proper forum.”
Leviste likewise resigned his post as a member of the board of publicly listed SP New Energy Corp. and its subsidiary, Terra Solar Philippines Inc., to shield the businesses from “any wrongful political attacks against me.”
Another solar firm linked to Leviste, Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc. (SPPHI), earlier drew hefty sanctions from the Department of Energy (DOE).
Last month, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the DOE had terminated 163 projects awarded to various companies for their failure to follow the timeline agreed upon for power production.
Garin said more than half of those projects, or 64 percent, were handled by SPPHI, the company founded by Leviste in 2013.
Garin said the canceled contracts under Leviste’s firm included 33 that were secured under the Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP), as well as some agreements outside GEAP reached between 2014 and 2019.
GEAP is a government initiative intended to accelerate the development of renewable energy sources, in line with the Marcos administration’s target to increase the share of renewables in the country’s power generation pie from the current 22 percent to 35 percent by 2030.
According to the DOE, SPPHI’s idled projects were mostly located in Luzon and those were expected to generate a total of more than 11,000 megawatts.
Despite the DOE’s consistent attempt to communicate with the company, Garin said, the agency has “not received any response” or any petition to extend the compliance period or reconsider the sanction.
“To be able to terminate a contract, we have to go through the whole due process,” the secretary told reporters.
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