Following two public consultations this month in Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga City, the Department of Energy campaigned in Davao City on Tuesday the establishment of Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in Mindanao.
The public consultation was held at the Royal Mandaya Hotel with DOE officials, Assistant Secretary Romeo M. Montenegro of Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) and Melinda L. Ocampo, president of Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) as members of the panel. It gathered energy experts, power industry participants, investors, consumers, members of the academe and other stakeholders.
The consultation focused on a draft circular dubbed, “Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA)” that will govern the operation of WESM Mindanao in fulfillment of DOE’s mandate to ensure the security, reliability and availability of transparent and reasonably-priced electricity in the country.
In a press conference at Pidoks, Davao City, DOE Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella explained that WESM works by providing a venue for efficient scheduling, dispatch and settlement of energy withdrawal and injections in the Mindanao Grid.
“Transparency. Competition. Accountability,” Fuentebella stressed as he pointed out economic dispatch fosters competition and encourages cost-effective production of electricity.
As of the moment, DOE is in the stage of capacity building among its stakeholders which will be followed by trial operations, participant trainings, WESM registration and readiness assessment.
It a press statement, DOE said the information drive will help more Mindanaoans better understand WESM and to appreciate the benefits it will bring in sustaining investments in Mindanao, which needs “a robust power sector to support a booming economy”.
Meanwhile, Montenegro said earlier that establishment of WESM in Mindanao is timely as the island is already having a surplus in power supply. As of last year, the island’s additional generating capacity reached to 782 megawatts.
In a report from DOE, the island will further have a boost in supply with an additional of 1,208 MW this year as new power plants would start their commercial operations.
According to DOE Asst. Secretary Redentor E. Delola, in the previous consultations, power industry stakeholders in Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga raised similar concerns particularly on the operational issues and recommended the need to boost the information-education campaign drive.
DOE emphasized the establishment of WESM in Mindanao is a high priority agenda hence, the agency is in a rigid information dissemination as it will conduct two more public consultations in Butuan City on the 28th, and General Santos City on March 7.
Despite the additional supply, there remains power interruptions in Mindanao especially in the franchise areas of distribution utilities which do not have sufficient power supply agreements to cover their increasing demand for electricity.
According to DOE, in the absence of such contracts, power generation companies are hesitant to operate their plants without an approved supply contract or any compensation mechanism duly approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission.
“Thus, the establishment of the WESM will serve as the mechanism to efficiently tap the excess capacities in the area to avoid rotating brownouts and ensure 24-hours continuous electricity service,” DOE said.
Set to launch in June 26, 2017, PEMC will be the lead agency to operate WESM. According to Cynthia Alabanza, spokesperson of NGCP the trialoperations is slated on February 26.
Mindanao is the only major island group in the country that has no spot market, mainly due to lack of stable power sources in the last two decades.
The WESM started in Luzon in 2006 followed by the Visayas operation launched in 2008.
