The average system-wide rates at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) declined by 34 percent to P3.88 per kilowatt-hour in September from P5.94 in August, according to preliminary data from WESM operator Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP).
System-wide demand went down by 3.4 percent to 13,700 megawatts from 14.186 MW last month, while supply increased 3.2 percent to 20,348 MW from 19,718 MW.
IEMOP corporate planning and communications manager Arjon Valencia attributed the low average prices at the WESM to the “sustained large system supply margin, primarily because of cooler weather conditions.”
Valencia said the low WESM prices could be sustained for the remaining months of the year “if the performance of the plants will be the same as this month, i.e. no large outage, yes it is possible for the WESM price to remain the same or even lower especially that wind generation tends to be higher during the amihan season.”
The Luzon grid posted the highest drop in rates by 39.1 percent to P3.80 per kWh from P6.24 per kWh.
Luzon power supply went up 4.9 percent to 14,327 MW from 13,657 MW, while demand went down 4.3 percent to 9,746 MW from 10,180 MW.
WESM charges in the Visayas grid also dropped 34.2 percent to P4.56 per kWh from P6.93 per kWh in August.
Available power capacity in the Visayas went up 5.3 percent to 2,387 MW, while demand declined 1.3 percent to 1,995 MW.
The Mindanao grid recorded an increase in rates by 3.3 percent to P3.48 per kWh from P3.37 per kWh as available supply dipped 4.2 percent to 3,635 MW following the outage of some power plants.
Mindanao power demand also went down 1.3 percent to 1,999 MW from 2,205 MW.
“Compared to prior billing month, supply margin in Mindanao is lower for September 2024,” Valencia said.
