Leviste’s solar business faces up to P150 million penalty

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February 5, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines —  Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste’s solar business may face yet another sanction—this time a potential P150-million fine from the Energy Regulatory Commission.

The ERC issued a show cause order against Solar Para Sa Bayan Corp. (SPBC), a company founded by Leviste that was granted a congressional franchise in 2019 to build, install and operate distributed energy resources and microgrids in remote areas.

In an order promulgated on Jan. 30, the regulator directed SPBC to explain three alleged violations such as operating without the required permits and certificates of compliance (COC), as well as charging unapproved power rates.

ERC chairman and CEO Francis Saturnino Juan said in a Viber message yesterday that the commission may impose up to “P50 million per violation.”

“It is a mortal sin for a regulated entity to charge fees without even seeking approval from the regulator,” Juan said in a recent interview.

The ERC, in its order, stated that SPBC has been “charging and collecting electricity rates” from consumers of Paluan in Occidental Mindoro since 2018 without prior regulatory approval.

Under existing rules, SPBC, as a grantee of a legislative franchise, is required to secure ERC approval for its retail rates before charging consumers.

Likewise, the commission noted that the solar firm operated without the necessary authority to operate and COC, pointing out that the company neither applied for nor was granted these certifications for its operations.

As such, SPBC was ordered to file its verified explanation and show cause why no administrative penalty should be imposed on it.

Earlier, Leviste admitted that the company was “defunct” and “stopped operating many years ago” and that he had already divested his stake before entering politics.

Yet, Section 18 of the franchise prohibits the grantee from transferring its controlling interest to any person, company or entity without prior approval of Congress.

Apart from SPBC, Leviste is also in hot water after the Department of Energy slapped a P24-billion penalty on Solar Philippines, the company that made the politician the country’s youngest self-made billionaire.

This follows the termination of 33 contracts of Solar Philippines in the past two years due to nonperformance.

These deals represent over 11,400 MW, or about 64 percent of the total potential capacity of all service contracts terminated in 2024 and 2025.         –