WESM reserve market resumes full trading ops

Trading of reserves on the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) for both contracted and merchant plants has fully resumed after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) determined that the grounds for the previous suspension were no longer valid.

The power regulator announced on Tuesday that it had lifted the suspension of Section 8 on Billing and Settlement of the Price Determination Methodology (PDM) in the WESM, allowing for the full resumption of the Reserve Market.

According to the ERC, an upcoming official order will provide further details on lifting the suspension. On 26 July, the ERC issued a Notice of Resolution to end the four-month market suspension that started on 26 March.

The ERC emphasized that the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC) and the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) have complied with the mandated instructions for assessing the proposed amended PDM. The PDM is a mechanism for determining prices and settlements in the WESM, as specified in the Market Manual.

The suspension initially applied to all capacities in the Reserve Market except those offered and dispatched under the Ancillary Services Purchase Agreement (ASPA). The ERC later extended interim relief for adopting and implementing the proposed PDM but added new conditions.

In August 2023, the ERC provided interim relief to evaluate the Trial Operations Program (TOP) results for the Reserve Market. The power regulator then directed the IEMOP to recalculate reserve trading amounts for the February and March billing periods and modify the value for the remaining 70 percent of the March billing.

It also instructed the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, the system operator, to follow a specific timeline when submitting non-compliances to the IEMOP.