IEMOP wants to help PHL attract investors
BY LENIE LECTURA – JUNE 16, 2021
from Business Mirror
The operator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) will soon implement programs that would help boost the power generation capacity of the Philippines.
In a briefing, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) said it would soon introduce the Reserve Market (RM) to attract investors to put up facilities to cater the requirement for ancillary services (AS).
Under the proposed RM, all generators will offer capacity for energy and reserves to be dispatched by the WESM. This allows investment signals for AS. IEMOP is also studying the implementation of a Forwards Market to ensure the financial viability of generation investments.
Also, a study on Capacity Market has been initiated to create an avenue wherein generation capacity requirements are auctioned off and the winning investors are guaranteed capacity payments through a universal tariff.
IEMOP will introduce market signals to determine the optimal locations of generations and transmission facilities for an overall generation and transmission planning.
“The development of draft policies which shall be submitted to policymakers is currently ongoing and it is expected to be completed early next year,” IEMOP said.
Meanwhile, IEMOP will launch on June 26 the Enhanced WESM Design and Operations (EWDO).
A key feature of the EWDO is the transition to a 5-minute interval for WESM from one hour.
“The commercial launch of the EWDO signifies the transition of WESM to the 5-minute market that is geared towards a more efficient, transparent, and reliable electricity market,” IEMOP said.
Preparatory activities, such as the Closed Loop Interface Testing, a series of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and the Limited Live Dispatch operations (LLDO) were conducted to further equip market participants on the new interface and systems that come along with the EWDO.
IEMOP carries out the mandate to pursue the WESM objective to have a transparent, fair, competitive, and reliable market for the trading of electricity throughout the Philippines.
