RP dependence on oil-based power plants down in H1

Energy efficiency has improved with the continuing decrease in the utilization of diesel and oil-based generating plants to only 2.4 percent during the first half of this year from 11.5 percent of the total demand in 2005,  the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) said.

PEMC president Lasse Holopainen, in a speech during the 2nd anniversary of the country’s wholesale electricity spot market (WESM), said the decrease in dependency on oil-based plants had helped shield the consumers from the increasing prices of oil in the international market.

Conversely, indigenous natural gas contribution to the energy mix has increased to 47.1 percent for the first half of 2008 from 36.1 percent in 2005.

Already two years in operation, Holopainen said the WESM reflects a turnaround in the prices of electricity starting at the end of 2007 to the first half of 2008.

“This was brought about by the shift in annual peak demand for the first half of 2008, the early start of the rainy season resulting in higher hydroelectric plant contribution,” said PEMC executive vice president Mario R. Pangilinan.

Pangilinan said there has also been a notable increase in investor interest in generation investment since the start of commercial operations of WESM.

The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) has successfully privatized the Pantabangan-Masiway Hydroelectric Plant (112MW) in 2006. This was followed closely by the sale of the Magat Hydro (360MW), Masinloc Coal (600MW), Calaca Coal (600MW) and Ambuklao-Binga Hydro (175MW) for a total cumulative value of over P119 billion.

According to Pangilinan, to sustain the development of the market and its participants, PEMC intends to launch the WESM traders’ accreditation program to institutionalize the electricity trading as a profession.

The Traders’ Accreditation Program, he said, will improve the skills and competencies of existing and new electricity traders. The curriculum will also upgrade the competencies of power traders and monitor the integrity of their actions as well as enhance compliance to market rules.

“The continued operation of the WESM only bodes well for the participants and the consumers. As it marks its second year of operation, the market also marks the broader achievements it has earned: an atmosphere of equity, fair competition and transparency, accomplished through the spirit of cooperation and professionalism,” Holopainen said.