September 5, 2019 | 10:28 pm
THE power market
operator is conducting parallel operations of its old and new trading software
as it expects the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) in Mindanao to start
operating once the other participating entities are ready.
“Seamless na
(operations are seamless),” Jose Mari T. Bigornia, president and chief
executive officer of the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the
Philippines, Inc. (IEMOP) told reporters.
“Basta kami
ready kami on the back end (We are ready on the back end),” he said.
“We’ll make sure that all the systems work.”
He said the delay was
largely due to the low level of acceptance among energy market participants in
Mindanao, which is thought by the industry to have excess power output until
2021 or 2022.
Mr. Bigornia said many
power generation companies in the southern island remain without a power supply
agreement that an electricity spot market could have provided a venue to sell
their excess capacity.
The Department of
Energy (DoE), under its current leadership, has been pushing for the
establishment of a WESM in Mindanao. It has been laying the groundwork in the
southern island as it said the move would ensure the delivery of “quality,
reliable, secure and affordable electricity” to the area.
In Luzon and the
Visayas, WESM is the centralized venue for buyers and sellers to trade
electricity as a commodity where its prices are based on actual use, or demand,
and availability, or supply. The Mindanao grid has yet to be connected to the
Visayas.
The target market
participants in Mindanao are power generation companies, private distribution
utilities, electric cooperatives, and bulk power users that are directly
connected to the transmission grid. It also includes privately owned National
Grid Corp. of the Philippines as the system operator.
Mr. Bigornia said his
office had so far registered about 80% of the target participants. He said the
market operator needs 100% registration because the sudden entry of the
remaining 20% might have an effect on the trading software.
“But 80% is a very good
benchmark [for us],” he said.
He said among the
reasons holding up electricity trading in Mindanao is the “price determination
methodology” (PDM) that remains for approval by the Energy Regulatory
Commission (ERC).
“That’s very
important,” he said, adding that the regulator continues to seek data from
IEMOP.
IEMOP is a non-stock,
non-profit corporation established in May 2018 to assume the market operator
functions of the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. for WESM. — Victor V.
Saulon
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