PEMC seeks capex boost for expanded role

The Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC), the governing body of the spot market, will seek the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for an additional market fee to finance its capital expansion plans. 

In a chance interview at the sidelines of the inauguration of the Mariveles-Hermosa-San Jose transmission line on Friday, PEMC President Elvin Hayes E. Nidea said the planned ERC filing for supplementary market fee implementation will help raise about P241 million. 

Nidea said the amount will finance the required additional manpower and equipment for an expanded reserve market monitoring in the next four years.

“As it stands, PEMC's share in the approved annual market fees of P200 million received in 2023 will not be sufficient to cover the costs required for expanding operations,” PEMC said in a separate statement on Friday.

PEMC was mandated by the Department of Energy to expand its compliance and market monitoring with the Reserve Market launched in January.

As indicated in PEMC's most recent financial statement, the market regulator has an overall excess of expenditures over income amounting to slightly over P90 million.

“The company has been operating on a deficit since the approval of market fees have been subject to delays. This is caused by backlogs and reinstituted market fees that were based on previous years’ approvals by the ERC,” it said. 

In March, the ERC ordered both the PEMC and the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines Inc. to suspend the implementation of a section on billing and settlement of the price determination methodology for the implementation of the co-optimized energy and reserve market in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.

Last Wednesday, ERC chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said the scheduled resumption of the reserve market operations this month will be delayed anew pending the final determination of a new price range that a generation company can offer. 

According to Dimalanta, the ongoing discussions surrounding the price floor and ceiling may potentially influence the anticipated timeline for resuming the reserves market.