The Department of Energy has imposed financial penalties totaling about P24 billion on Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc. after canceling dozens of power supply commitments that failed to come online as scheduled, according to a briefing cited by Inquirer.net.
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said on Tuesday that the agency voided 163 service contracts across the power sector for missed development timelines, with a majority traced to Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc., the company founded in 2013 by Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste.
DOE data presented at the briefing showed that roughly 64 percent of the terminated projects were under SPPPHI. These included 33 contracts awarded through the Green Energy Auction Program and additional agreements signed between 2014 and 2019. The scrapped projects—mostly in Luzon, with specific sites not immediately disclosed—were expected to deliver more than 11,000 megawatts of capacity.
Garin told reporters the cancellations followed due process and repeated attempts by the department to engage the company. “To be able to terminate a contract, we have to go through the whole due process,” she said. “What we want are legitimate investors, that’s why we’re cleaning it out.”
Across all developers, the 163 terminated contracts in 2024–2025 covered solar, biomass, geothermal, hydro, and wind projects, representing nearly 18,000 MW of planned generation. Solar accounted for the largest share at 12,271 MW. The government’s auction program is a central plank of the Marcos administration goal to lift renewable energy’s share of power generation to 35 percent by 2030 from about 22 percent.
The DOE said SPPPHI’s financial exposure stems from performance bonds and related obligations, with roughly P14 billion tied to guarantees required under the auction program. Garin said preparations are underway within the first quarter to enforce collection.
As of press time, Leviste had not responded to Inquirer.net’s request for comment.
Separately, the issue has intersected with other developments involving the first-term lawmaker. Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla has said an alleged sale of a solar energy franchise to tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan—which he said lacked congressional approval—is under investigation. Pangilinan’s Meralco PowerGen Corp. has stated that SP New Energy Corp. is separate from Solar Para Sa Bayan Corp., which holds a congressional franchise for remote-area microgrids, and DOE officials said SP New Energy has no projects on the termination list.
DOE representatives stressed that the enforcement action was not targeted, noting that other canceled contracts belonged to smaller developers and that a public list of terminated deals had yet to be posted. The department also said it is preparing stricter safeguards for future renewable energy awards, including possible disqualification of developers that fail to meet contract obligations.
