By Claire-Ann M. C. Feliciano, Reporter
Posted on November 26, 2013 09:45:49 PM
COMMERCIAL operations of the electricity trading platform in Mindanao -- originally to start yesterday -- have been pushed back for a week amid "certain issues" to be addressed before the market goes online.
"The DoE, in cooperation with PEMC (Philippine Electricity Market Corp.), decided to move the full commercial operations of IMEM because of certain issues," Ms. Capongcol said.
The official said the DoE is yet to finalize the composition of an independent governance committee (IGC) to manage IMEM.
"The DoE will appoint the members of the IGC, which will oversee the IMEM operations. It will recommend policy and adjust mechanisms under IMEM throughout the operations," she explained.
Ms. Capongcol said the IGC will be an independent entity with six representatives from the DoE, PEMC, National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) -- all non-voting individuals -- and three more individuals from the energy industry.
Asked why the committee was not finalized earlier, Ms. Capongcol said the DoE is checking the background of each individual to ascertain their qualifications.
Besides the IGC, Ms. Capongcol said several registration issues also remain to be settled.
"There are still concerns from the power generators on the registration and documentation requirements, but we are ready to address them," she said. "We just want to make sure all the participants will comply."
The final regulatory hurdle involving an offer cap for the IMEM was resolved earlier this month, according to a joint circular of the DoE, PEMC and Energy Regulatory Commission.
"[A]n offer cap... is hereby set at P32,000 per megawatt hour (equivalent to P32/kWh) and shall remain effective unless otherwise amended or revoked...," the circular stated.
Ms. Capongcol had explained the offer cap will allow all available capacities to be offered in the market at a certain price.
"We expect that the distribution utilities (DUs) in Mindanao will utilize the IMEM so that we can address the power supply problems. These DUs will source the shortfall of their power needs from the market," Ms. Capongcol had said.
"So once the DUs already have enough supply for their customers, there will no longer be rotating brownouts in Mindanao."
Ms. Capongcol also stressed that the cost of electricity on offer will not go beyond the price cap.
The joint resolution said the DoE, ERC and PEMC will review the cap three months from the start of IMEM’s full commercial operations and as often as needed to determine whether adjustments are necessary.
IMEM’s initial operations, which began Sept. 26, were intended to "fully familiarize... participants with the daily operations of the IMEM, particularly with respect to centralized scheduling and dispatch", according to a DoE circular in September.
The market is intended to entice power generators that previously refused to sell excess capacity to distributors in Mindanao because payments were not guaranteed.
IMEM is seen to alleviate Mindanao’s perennial power woes by utilizing untapped electricity from embedded generators -- estimated to reach about 200 megawatts -- with supply-deficient distributors likely to buy the needed capacity requirements of their franchise areas. source
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