Co-ops slam bill granting Leviste a national franchise for solar firm

A proposed law pending at the House of Representatives giving Solar Para Sa Bayan Corp. a national franchise violates the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira), according to the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (Philreca).

Philreca president Presley de Jesus said in a statement House Bill No. 8015 was “an attempt by a solar power company to circumvent provisions” of the power reform law by obtaining a legislative franchise.

De Jesus said the bill proposed to grant Solar Para Sa Bayan, a new company set up by Leandro Leviste, a blanket legislative franchise to operate all throughout the country.

He alleged Solar Para Sa Bayan wanted to secure a franchise because it had “failed to win in any bidding through a competitive selection process as mandated by the government.”

“If Solar Para Sa Bayan wants to become a key player in the power sector, it could participate through the Qualified Third Party program of the Department of Energy,” he said.

“If Solar Para Sa Bayan is indeed interested in alleviating poverty through electrification, there is already a mechanism that will allow them to do so without the need for a national franchise,” he added.

De Jesus said the power reform law already offered a way by which interested private companies could participate in the energization of unviable, unserved or underserved areas that a franchised distribution utility — such as Philreca’s members — would be unable to service due to recognized constraints.

“Solar Para Sa Bayan’s application for a national franchise is a move to do away [with] the existing rules to participate in the electrification program of the government, particularly in the off-grid areas,” De Jesus said.

In an interview, Sen. Win Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate committee on energy, said he had no problems with granting such a franchise to any private company.

“We just have to ensure that the areas they would go into are areas that really have not had electricity services before,” Gatchalian said.

Last week, Leviste — who is also behind Solar Philippines that operates solar power farms and a solar panel factory — said Solar Para Sa Bayan was bringing round-the-clock electricity services to 12 towns across the country.

Leviste, who is also the son of Sen. Loren Legarda, said in a statement an estimated 200,000 Filipinos would benefit from these projects in provinces including Mindoro, Palawan, Masbate, Cagayan and Aurora.

“Our aim is not to make the most profit, but to help the greatest number of our fellow Filipinos,” Leviste said.