Much-needed regulation

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) wants to require both local and foreign manufacturers of solar energy components to first secure a Philippine Standards (PS) safety and quality certification mark before they can be sold in the market.

The proposed regulation would cover inverters, rapid shutdown devices, battery charge controllers, solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, PV cables and battery energy storage systems.

Importers of covered solar energy components would also be required to obtain an import commodity clearance (ICC) certification mark under the proposed department administrative order.

Earlier, the DTI said that the proposed regulation seeks to ensure that solar energy systems sold in the country comply with Philippine National Standards (PNS) to protect Filipino consumers from low-quality and potentially unsafe products that may fail after only a short period of use or put homes and establishments at risk.

The proposed mandatory product certification also aims to prevent the Philippines from becoming a dumping ground for substandard solar products rejected by other countries.

The proposed regulation will recognize test reports issued by accredited and recognized testing laboratories. It will not cover the installation or mounting of solar energy systems.

DTI Secretary Cristina Roque explained that by upholding clear quality standards, the government seeks to give Filipinos greater confidence that the solar systems they invest in are durable, properly tested and capable of delivering real savings over the long term.

She added that as more Filipino families, businesses and communities turn to solar power to lower electricity costs and secure a more stable energy future, it is important that the products entering the Philippine market are safe, reliable and built to last.

Among the more than 100 specific items currently under mandatory certification are household appliances, consumer electronics including heated tobacco product systems and vapor product systems, lighting and wiring devices including electric vehicle charging equipment and stations as well as all plugs and socket-outlets, steel products, plastic pipes and ceramic products, cement and other construction materials, chemical products including fireworks and fire extinguishers, automotive related products such as seat belts as well as helmets for motorcycles and tires for automotive vehicles, glass products and other consumer products including LPG cylinders and valves.

These products are required to bear either the PS Mark for locally manufactured goods or the ICC sticker for imported products before they can be distributed and sold in the market. Selling these products without the required mark or sticker may result in administrative penalties and sanctions.

Concerns have been raised that the proposed mandatory certification for solar components and equipment will create more red tape for importers and suppliers and will potentially raise costs that may eventually be passed on to buyers.

According to the DTI Bureau of Philippine Standards website, the following are the costs to get a PS quality and/or safety certification mark license in general: application fee, P300; quality manual review, P5,000; original license fee, P5,000 to P12,500; annual license fee, P2,500 to P6,250 depending on size of the establishment; audit fee, P100 to P500 per man-hour; testing fee as charged by a BPS-recognized testing laboratory and other costs such as transportation and hotel accommodation for the inspector if necessary as per arrangement.

For import commodity clearance, the fees include: application fee, P300; processing fee, P5,000 to P10,000; DTI inspection fee, P1,000 per man-hour; fee by BPS-recognized testing laboratory inspection body as charged; testing fee as charged; and ICC sticker, P1.31 to P1.56 per piece.

Then there’s the statement of confirmation (SOC) issued for importers bringing in specific highly regulated goods that are sourced from foreign manufacturers already holding a valid PS quality and/or safety certification mark license and which are generally exempt from securing an ICC.

The fees to secure an SOC are as follows: application fee, P300; processing fee, P5,000 to P30,000 depending on invoice value; DTI inspection fee, P1,000 per man-hour; inspection by BPS-recognized inspection body as charged; and testing fee again as charged.

Application fee for a certificate of exemption is P300.

These certification fees are per batch per shipment of the products being imported or manufactured, not per piece, except for the ICC sticker.

The PS license is valid for three years but shipments or production batches are still regularly inspected and verified. The ICC issued to importers is strictly audited per batch per shipment.

News reports say that the Philippines has emerged as China’s second largest export market for solar panels next only to The Netherlands.

From March to April of this year alone, China exported to the country enough solar panels to generate 3,000 megawatts of electricity, or more than half of last year’s 5,068 MW.

Energy think tank Ember, in a May 28, 2026 report, said that rooftop solar in the Philippines is taking off, with rooftop solar likely almost doubling in the last 12 months.

It noted that rooftop solar’s payback time has declined as electricity prices surge which means that those who invest in solar systems can recover their money in a shorter period of time as they save more from spending for electricity.

From May 2025 to May 2026, the payback time for residential rooftop solar has fallen from four years to just 3.1 years, for commercial rooftop from three years to just 2.3 years and for industrial rooftop from 3.9 years to 3.1 years.

Ember explained that the payback times for rooftop solar have hit levels that should encourage mass uptake, adding that concerns about future electricity price rises make it more likely, while recent policy changes make mass adoption easier.

Installing a residential solar PV system is not cheap. One solar rooftop company says on its website that a one-kW system which is ideal for electricity bills of between P4,000 and below a month costs P90,000 including panels, inverter, standard mounting and installation; P171,000 for a two-kW system for those with electricity bills of between P4,000 and P6,000 a month and P231,500 for a three-kW system which is ideal for those with electricity bills between P8,000 and P10,000 a month. These do not include net metering.

One company meanwhile says a 1.6-kWp grid-tied solar is suitable for households with an average monthly electricity bill of P12,000. This could power one to two refrigerators and an airconditioning system. Estimated cost starts at P108,000. Another places the cost to install a three-kWp fully automatic grid-tied solar system at P200,000 to P280,000.

Grid-tied solar systems link the solar panel installations directly to the electric utility grid, allowing homeowners to export excess energy to the grid rather than storing it in battery systems for later use. Most grid-tied systems use a special two-way utility meter (net metering). Any excess power fed into the grid can earn credits, lowering one’s overall electricity costs.

If a simple blender, rice cooker, electric fan or a toaster needs safety and quality certification from the DTI, why shouldn’t solar panel systems, which cost so much more? Wouldn’t households and businesses benefit if they invest hundreds of thousands of pesos in systems that are safer and more reliable?

Customers and manufacturers/importers have spoken and complained about the expected additional costs to have a solar system installed.

But this is one situation where the costs far outweigh the benefits.

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