DoE targets June launch for new WESM setup

By Angelica Y. Yang – May 23, 2021 | 6:23 pm
from Business World

THE Department of Energy (DoE) hopes to launch by June 26 various rule changes to the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM), which will reduce the time between scheduling and dispatch of power, among others, according to an advisory posted last week on the department’s website.

According to the advisory, before receiving DoE clearance to launch the enhanced WESM design and operations (EWDO), the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) must attest to the market readiness of the three major island groups, the DoE said.

Other proposed changes to WESM operations include automatic pricing corrections and one-part settlements of energy trading amounts, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) said in January.

In an advisory signed by Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi on May 21, the DoE said the PEMC’s certification of market readiness of the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao grids must come “at least one month” before June 26.

“Upon receipt of the certificate, the DoE shall determine its acceptability and sufficiency… if the DoE finds it meritorious, it shall issue another advisory declaring the actual commercial operation date,” the DoE said.

If the department does not accept the certificate of market readiness, the PEMC and other stakeholders must work to rectify the deficiency. Once the DoE approves the changes, it will choose a new date for the EWDO.

IEMOP has said it also plans to launch WESM in Mindanao on June 26.

Once EWDO takes effect, pricing and schedules for the Mindanao grid will be separate from those of Luzon and the Visayas, according to the advisory.

“The Luzon and Visayas grids shall be considered as one settlement region and the Mindanao grid another settlement region,” the DoE said.

Once the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP) goes ahead, a market dispatch optimization model will be in force to determine the prices and schedules for the grids across the three island groups. When this happens, the grids will become a single settlement region.

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines has said that delays in Mindanao-Visayas power grid link may push back its target completion date, originally announced as the end of 2021. In February, the grid operator discovered that portions of the MVIP’s fiber optic submarine cables have been severed.

The MVIP project will connect the grids of Mindanao and the Visayas, allowing excess power from both areas to be channeled where needed.