The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines is expected to launch the reserve market by next year, top executives said over the weekend.
IEMOP chief operating officer Robinson Descanzo said preparations were ongoing for the reserve market, which would follow the launching of the Mindanao wholesale electricity spot market in the fourth quarter this year.
The reserve market allows for the trading of ancillary services or services that are necessary to support the transmission of capacity and energy from resources to loads, while maintaining the reliable operation of the transmission system.
“We’ll try our best to complete it by 2022, but also the important milestones regarding the preparations. We will do them such as the continuous training of participants, trial operation, registration until they become more familiar with the mechanics of the reserve market,” Descanzo said.
Valfia Uy-Gregorio, a senior specialist at the IEMOP market design and business development division, said WESM Mindanao would be implemented prior to the reserve market.
Gregorio said the reserve market would undergo the normal process of rules change process at the Energy Regulatory Commission, Philippine Electricity Market Corp. and the Department of Energy .
She said the price determination mechanism would also need to get an approval from ERC.
“Upon the approval is the implementation of reserve market. We’re looking at its implementation in 2022. WESM Mindanao is being targeted hopefully within the fourth quarter of 2021,” Gregorio said.
Energy industry players called for the implementation of the reserve market to provide another market to developers.
AC Energy Corp. president and chief executive Eric Francia said renewable energy development should be complemented by battery energy storage including the establishment of the reserve market.
He said investments in BES, which are still costly, would be difficult to make unless there is an assured market.
“It is important for government to enforce the reserves market to happen and spur more investments in battery storage and ancillary capacity,” Francia said.