Meralco seeks harmonized system

Manila, Philippines - Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s largest power distributor, is seeking to harmonize its systems with the administrator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

The updated system interface is part of the preparations for the start of retail competition and open access (RCOA) late this year, a company executive said.

“We know Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) will be the net settlement agent. Obviously we have to interface with their systems, we have not started that,” said Alfredo Panlilio, senior vice-president and head of customer retail services of Meralco.

Panlilio said the Department of Energy (DOE) earlier committed to initiate a meeting between Meralco and PEMC. This will ensure that their systems will communicate well, he said.

Under the RCOA, customers can freely choose their electricity service provider. This means that electricity end-users with an average monthly peak demand of one megawatt (MW) can choose from whom to procure their electricity service.

Through RCOA, retail electricity suppliers like Meralco can tailor their supply packages to provide customers with the best value based on their power consumption profile and other preferences.

“I do not know what the scope of the interface will be but our information technology group will look into it,” Panlilio said.

“We will have to assess how complicated that link, that interface is,” he added.

In February, the DOE designated PEMC as the central registration body in the RCOA. It will be in charge of reviewing WESM rules and manuals, coordinating with stakeholders and other government agencies and performing related functions for the effective implementation of RCOA.

The PEMC is still seeking the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for its P130-million business-to-business system development.

Panlilio said its customers are already asking for details about the RCOA.

A quick update of the systems will already allow customers like multinational firms to seek approvals from their headquarters, Panlilio said.

PEMC expects 800 participants in the RCOA. Participants are composed of distribution utilities, retail electricity suppliers, central registration body and regulators like the DOE, PEMC and ERC.

“We are getting to that tight timetable. I do not think [RCOA] is going to happen September, I think it is more December,” Panlilio said.

“That window is getting smaller and smaller,” Panlilio added.

In November, the ERC approved the deferment of RCOA due to the lack of necessary infrastructure and policies. It was supposed to kick off on Dec. 26, 2011.