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LAST month, the nation’s largest distribution utility caused a bit of a stir when Larry Fernandez, vice president and head of utility economics for the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), told a Senate committee that the company supports stricter regulation of rooftop solar installations, including standardization of key components, certification of installers, and a “crackdown” on so-called “guerrilla” installations, those that are done without registration and the corresponding building and safety permits. As I wrote at the time, even though that is what Fernandez literally said, it was reported in such a way as to cast Meralco as being opposed to rooftop solar, while omitting some context that would have clarified the utility’s legitimate concerns about its uncontrolled growth.