President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) temporarily suspended the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) operations due to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) issuing a Red Alert status to control power rates.
In his speech during the Labor Day event in Malacañang on Wednesday, Marcos said this emergency measure is designed to prevent further price increases that could worsen the economic strain on households and businesses.
The Philippine Electricity Market Corporation oversees the WESM, a marketplace for commodity trading in electricity that was established through Republic Act No. 9136, also referred to as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.
"Due to the intense heat, electricity consumption is increasing, which contributes to rising prices," Marcos said.
"The measure taken by the ERC to suspend WESM operations under Red Alert conditions is a proactive step to shield our consumers from unpredictable and potentially exorbitant costs," Marcos added.
In view of the current high demand for electricity, the President reassured the people last Monday that the government will implement plans and strategies to control power rates.
A dry spell is overloading the electricity system, he stated in a Cotabato interview.
The increase in demand has the government, he claims, keeping a close eye on the situation.
The Department of Energy (DOE) earlier announced that further yellow and red alerts are anticipated in the next weeks because the nation has already exceeded its projected demand given the current heat levels during the El Niño.
The status of the facilities will determine the alerts, according to DOE Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevarra.
Should plants experience unplanned outages as was the case earlier this month, the alert status might jump to red.
Recall that the DOE declared last year that despite the El Niño, there would be no red or yellow alerts anticipated this year because multiple solar power facilities were anticipated to come in and offer extra power.