Published November 27, 2016, 10:00
PM By
Antonio L. Colina IV
Davao City – Energy secretary
Alonfoso Cusi is looking at the revival of an electricity market in Mindanao to
properly manage and harness the huge excess in energy supply in the with entry
of new baseload plants in the island grid.
The Power Electricity Market
Corporation (PEMC), operator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in
Luzon, handled the Interim Mindanao Electricity Market (IMEM) but its
operations were suspended in February 2014 due to “system collapse in
Mindanao,” and the need to “resolve operational and commercial issues and concerns.”
In a message delivered for Cusi by
Energy Undersecretary Benito Ranque during the AMRECO Summit in Cagayan de Oro
City last Friday, he said the electricity market will ensure not only stable
power but also foster a more competitive market that will bring in more
investments to Mindanao.
“All these run parallel with
President Rodrigo Duterte’s twin priorities of fully addressing the power
situation, at the same time, pumping more economic activity and creating more
jobs and livelihood in his most beloved homeland of Mindanao,” he said.
He said the Department of Energy
(DOE) envisions this mechanism to provide a venue for all distribution
utilities and electric cooperatives to buy power, even if they are not covered
by existing power supply contracts.
He said that the commissioning of
about 973megawatts (MW) from the combined power of base-load coal plants will
cause a massive shift in the power situation of Mindanao from power supply
deficiency to that of excess generation.
He said the Mindanao power consumers
should brace for this major change in the power supply side.
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