IN a Senate budget hearing on Thursday, October 10, Energy Undersecretary Rowena Guevara disclosed that the Department of Energy (DoE) had initiated the process to terminate 21 of the 42 solar energy service contracts that have been awarded to Solar Philippines New Energy Corp. (SPNEC) and its various subsidiaries, due to non-delivery of the expected projects. The controversy has exposed some loopholes in the DoE's green energy development program, but to the department's credit, it seems to have recognized them and taken steps to eliminate them, beginning with firm and appropriate action with respect to the unfulfilled SPNEC contracts.

In the hearing, which concerned the budget for the DoE for 2025, several senators expressed frustration with the situation, most notably Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada. Estrada was evidently well-prepared for the discussion; he shared figures indicating that the DoE, as of March, had awarded a total of 473 service contracts for solar power installations to various renewable energy companies, with those contracts comprising 32,359 megawatts (MW) of RE supply. Of that amount, 10,000 MW, or nearly a third, had been committed by SPNEC and its affiliates. However, the company has only been able to complete 174.41 MW, less than 2 percent of its contracted capacity.