Mindanao customers are now enjoying competitive power prices after the launch of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market or WESM in the region last month.

The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines on Tuesday reported a P5.23 per kilowatt Effective Spot Settlement Price or the effective rate paid by the customers for their respective WESM transactions, in the first billing month of Mindanao spot market operations.

IEMOP noted that the price reflected a “competitive price in the electricity market,” which was attributable to the supply margin of 1,429 megawatts in the region.

The surplus, according to the market operator, was enough to cover the average demand of 1,745 MW.

Surplus enough for demand

Notably, the majority of Mindanao customers’ requirements were served by coal plants at 62.54 percent, followed by hydro plants at 30.39 percent, and geothermal plants at 4.44 percent. About 13.90 percent of total consumption or 1,142 gigawatt-hour were bought through the WESM.

Likewise, IEMOP noted that the Mindanao WESM successfully scheduled and dispatched generators, which employed an optimal and rules -based scheduling process that resulted in a more secure and reliable supply.

Following a Department of Energy order, all pending WESM registration requirements should be accomplished before the end of the three-month relaxation period on 25 April.

The P52-billion Mindanao -Visayas Interconnection Project or MVIP, which according to the DoE will launch within the first half of the year, will complement the Mindanao WESM.

The MVIP, undertaken by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, will link together all three major Philippine islands to create one grid.

The NGCP was authorized by the Energy Regulatory Commission to start building the project way back in 2017. It was initially scheduled to be completed in 2020 but it was delayed due to the pandemic.