The Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) said Thursday the implementation of a reserve market has drastically reduced red and yellow grid alerts, a sign of improved power supply stability.
PEMC, the governing body of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, said in a statement the reserve market’s success demonstrates its effectiveness as a key component of the country’s power system security.
PEMC said the reserve market, which started commercial operations on Aug. 5, 2025, has helped ensure nationwide reliability by procuring ancillary services for the Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao grids.
It noted a 98.39-percent reduction in red and yellow alerts compared to the suspension period, when multiple alerts were declared.
From August 2024 to July 2025, a yellow alert was recorded across the entire grid system, which occurred in Luzon in March 2025.
The reserve market’s commercial operations were briefly suspended on March 25, 2024, by the Energy Regulatory Commission due to high prices, before resuming on Aug. 5, 2025.
PEMC said participation in the reserve market had increased, with reserve capacity in Luzon and Visayas growing by 20.27 percent and 27.47 percent, respectively. The growth is due to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) policy promoting generator facility certification for ancillary services, it said.
The reserve market has also allowed for flexible procurement of ancillary services through spot transactions, averaging 32.23 percent of scheduled reserves in Luzon, 61.46 percent in Visayas and 11.47 percent in Mindanao.
PEMC said compliance among ancillary service providers has matured, with a marked reduction in non-compliance with reserve conformance and offered capacity standards.
Financial penalties for confirmed breaches, such as non-payment of Reserve Trading Amounts (RTA), remain in effect, with funds distributed to end-users. A penalty relaxation period was in place from August 2024 to February 2025 to support the transition.
