Manila: The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is giving officials of Solar Para Sa Bayan Corporation (SPSB) time to explain their side on the alleged unauthorized operations in Paluan, Occidental Mindoro. The company is among the firms owned by Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste, whose Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc. (SPPHI) has been slapped with a PHP24-billion penalty by the Department of Energy (DOE) for failure to heed the requirements under its green energy auction (GEA) contracts.

According to Philippines News Agency, ERC chair lawyer Francis Saturnino Juan, in an interview on Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon, said charges may be filed because the company still exists even if it has already lost its franchise. Juan emphasized that this issue is not isolated to Solar Para Sa Bayan but serves as a warning to the entire power industry that companies cannot ignore the Commission or impose fees without ERC approval.

Over the weekend, the ERC announced a show cause order against SPSB following complaints about alleged unauthorized operations in Occidental Mindoro and the imposition of power rates without ERC approval. Juan stated that ERC records show no applications from the company to operate or impose fees.

Citing complaints filed before the ERC, Juan noted that SPSB allegedly imposed rates of up to PHP18 per kilowatt hour (kWh), surpassing the rates collected by the Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative (OMECO). According to the OMECO website, its rates range from PHP10.5777/kWh to PHP13.3489/kWh as of January 2026, with the lowest rate for public buildings and the highest for street lights, while the residential consumer rate is PHP12.6466/kWh.

In a television interview last month, Leviste stated that SPBC had been shut down "many years ago."