The average system-wide electricity prices in the Philippines’ spot market rose 15.3 percent in August 2025 to P4.59 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from the previous month, on increased demand and widespread power plant outages, data from the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) showed Wednesday.
Average system-wide supply fell 0.7 percent to 20,611 megawatts (MW) in the period, while demand rose 1.7 percent to 14,052 MW, pushing prices up, IEMOP said.
“There were forced outages and yellow alerts in the first week of August,” said Isidro Cacho, IEMOP vice president for trading operations.
“The HVDC link was maximized, leading to price separation between Luzon and Visayas. The flow of supply from Mindanao to Visayas was limited,” said Cacho.
Cacho said he expects prices to remain between P4 and P5 per kWh for the rest of the year, with supply adequate to meet rising demand.
In Luzon, despite higher demand and supply, average prices dipped slightly by P0.16 to P3.76 per kWh. The region’s power supply was 14,646 MW, while demand was 9,882 MW.
Prices in the Visayas surged P2.01 to P6.40 per kWh due to outages at several coal plants and the shutdown of biomass facilities. This resulted in yellow alerts on Aug. 1, Aug. 4 and Aug. 5. Supply in the region declined to 2,405 MW, while demand increased to 2,027 MW.
Prices in Mindanao also soared P2.86 to P6.66 per kWh after outages at coal plants, which caused a yellow alert on Aug. 1. Supply dropped to 3,561 MW, while demand was steady at 2,144 MW.
IEMOP said forced and planned outages of cheaper plants during the second week of August also contributed to the overall price increases.
According to IEMOP, renewable energy contributed 26 percent of the total generation mix. The share of natural gas rose to 22 percent, while coal and geothermal generation decreased to 50.6 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively.
Solar generation increased to 4 percent, oil-based generation to 0.9 percent and hydro generation to 12.6 percent due to the rainy season.
