Published July 7, 2020,
10:00 PM by Myrna M. Velasco
With steady increase in
demand last month following wider re-opening of the economy, the electricity
rates to be billed by Manila Electric Company (Meralco) will be slightly higher
this July billing cycle.
As noted by Meralco
Spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga, the demand in Luzon grid was hitting peak in
June, rising by about 1,000 megawatts versus the demand plunge that happened at
the height of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in various parts of the
country.
The ‘yellow alert’
declaration of system operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines
(NGCP) last June 4 due to the forced outages and de-ration of several power
plants compounded supply strain; consequently pushing prices higher in the
Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.
“The tighter supply
conditions led to an upward movement in WESM charges,” Zaldarriaga explained,
although he qualified that “the increase may be tempered by savings from force
majeure claims” of the utility firm.
The FM claims of the
company, however, will likely be leaner compared to previous months as the ECQ
and the modified ECQ status of the coronavirus lockdowns had already been
eased; and that supply-demand trajectory are now gradually returning to normal
course.
According to Robin
Descanzo, chief operating officer of spot market operator Independent
Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), the effective spot
settlement price (ESSP) for the supply month of June was at P3.25 per kilowatt
hour (kwh), which climbed by more than P1.00 per kwh from the May spot price of
P2.19 per kwh.
The spot market
similarly pointed to unplanned outages of power plants being the main driver
for the upticks in prices last month.
The June peak demand
also hit a record 12,611 megawatts; while average demand for the entire month
hovered at 10,174MW versus available supply of 13,794MW.
Essentially, Descanzo
indicated that supply margin was still considerably ample at 3,621MW; although
this is already hitting downtrend compared to the time when demand crashed at
the height of the lockdown period.
Last month’s spot
market exposure of purchasing power utilities had been at 13-percent; while
total capacity tied to bilateral contracts accounted for 87-percent.
For the period from January to May, IEMOP stated that total recorded consumption hit 30.477 terra-watt hours (TWh), as customer transactions dropped by 5.2-percent versus the same months last year.
Within the five-month stretch, the average procurements from the WESM stood at 11.6-percent and the effective spot settlement price amounted to P2.53 per kwh.
For the period from January to May, IEMOP stated that total recorded consumption hit 30.477 terra-watt hours (TWh), as customer transactions dropped by 5.2-percent versus the same months last year.
Within the five-month stretch, the average procurements from the WESM stood at 11.6-percent and the effective spot settlement price amounted to P2.53 per kwh.
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