MANILA, Philippines – Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi wants to expedite the implementation of an electricity spot market in Mindanao.
Despite pronouncements from some power players, an oversupply scenario in the power sector is not possible, Cusi said. “I don’t believe there’s going to be an oversupply, not even in Mindanao.”
He said views in the power sector depends on who’s talking. “If it’s the one selling, then there’s an oversupply. If the one buying is talking, then there isn’t one. As government, we have to find the middle ground,” Cusi said.
But to ensure a reliable and stable supply in the Mindanao grid, Cusi said the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) should be set up as soon as possible.
“We’re targeting I think June 2017. But we’re trying to… we’re talking of how to expedite this,” he said.
Established under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, WESM serves as the country’s electricity trading market.
However, Mindanao was not part of the WESM and its power grid is not connected to the national grid.
Instead, an Interim Mindanao Electricity Market (IMEM) was set up on Sept. 26, 2013 and started full commercial operations on Nov. 26, 2013 as a trading floor for electricity in the region, similar to WESM in Luzon and Visayas.
IMEM was suspended in February 2014 following a grid-wide power interruption in the region, preventing power companies with excess generating capacity to offer their output to distribution utilities (DUs).
Apart from instances of power interruptions during its operations, PEMC also faced the difficulty of getting payments from DUs for the capacity bought in IMEM.