WESM rates take slight dip in August

MANILA, Philippines — System-wide electricity rates in the country’s power spot market slipped last month, according to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP).

Based on preliminary data, the average price in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) went down to P5.94 per kilowatt-hour in August from the previous month’s P5.97 per kWh.

The lower WESM rate was due to higher supply, which was enough to partially offset the increased demand for the month.

WESM, operated by IEMOP, is the centralized venue for trading electricity as a commodity where prices are determined by supply and demand.

For the July 26 to Aug. 25 billing period, supply edged 4.5 percent higher to 19,718 megawatts from 18,867 MW, while demand climbed by 1.4 percent to 14,186 MW from 13,989 MW.

The supply margin, or the difference between the available supply and the actual demand, improved to 5,532 MW from 4,878 MW on a monthly basis.

“There is a wider supply margin mainly because the hydropower plants’ contribution has increased to 10 percent (current billing month) from 6.7 percent (previous billing month),” said Arjon Valencia, IEMOP corporate planning and communications manager.

In the Luzon grid, the average spot market price increased by 5.5 percent to P6.24 per kWh last month from P5.92 per kWh in July.

The region’s supply grew by 2.4 percent to 13,657 MW from 13,340 MW, while demand went up by 0.4 percent to 10,180 MW from 10,142 MW.

This resulted in a supply margin of 3,477 MW for the month from 3,198 MW previously.

For Visayas, the average electricity rate slipped by 7.6 percent to P6.93 per kWh in August from P7.50 per kWh in July.

The region saw its supply rise by 7.7 percent to 2,268 MW from 2,105 MW and its demand went up by 4.6 percent to 1,982 MW from 1,894 MW.

The supply margin was higher at 286 MW from the 211 MW recorded in July.

In the Mindanao grid, the average spot market price dropped by 27.8 percent to P3.37 per kWh in August from the preceding month’s P4.67 per kWh.

The steep decline was driven by a 10.9-percent increase in supply, rising to 3,794 MW from 3,421 MW, which overshadowed a modest 3.7-percent rise in demand to 2,025 MW from 1,952 MW.

The region had a supply margin of 1,769 MW, up from July’s 1,469 MW.