‘Power spot prices to remain at P7/kwh on rising demand’
BY LENIE LECTURA – APRIL 26, 2023
from Business Mirror
The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) warned that average electricity spot market prices in May could remain at the P7 per kilowatt hour (kWh) level.
IEMOP reported Tuesday that prices for most days in April climbed to P7.68 per kilowatt hour (kWh) from P6.57 per kWh in March.
“The probability of (average prices) remaining at P7 per kwh in May is high. It is still April and May is still part of the summer months. The El Niño phenomenon is going to be another factor so the probability could be high,” said IEMOP Corporate Strategy and Communications head Isidro Cacho Jr. during an online news briefing.
Market prices increased from P6.57 to 7.68 pesos per kWh from March to April billing periods for Luzon and Visayas. In contrast, the market price for Mindanao went down to P5.36/kWh in April from P6.56/kWh in March, according to IEMOP.
“Personally, since there are two days left for the April billing period, WESM [Wholesale Electricity Spot Market] price in Luzon and Visayas is unlikely to go down to below P7 per kW,” said Cacho.
Average electricity demand in Luzon and Visayas rose to 11,033 MW in April from 10,244 in March. Meanwhile, Mindanao’s power demand also rose to 1,790 MW from 1,752 MW.
The increase in demand led to year-to-date peak levels in all grids. Demand in Luzon reached a new peak of 12,221 MW on April 19, while Visayas demand peaked at 2,380 MW on April 17. Mindanao also recorded a new peak demand of 2,363 MW on April 19.
These figures showed an increase of 6 percent for Luzon and 10 percent each for Visayas and Mindanao compared to the same period last year.
“The peak demand for Luzon increased by as much as 800 MW. Traditionally, peak demand occurs in May, sometimes in June. For this year, probably because of the heat wave we’re experiencing, the increase in demand is more than 700 MW. That’s about a 6 percent increase in peak demand,” said Cacho.
The year-to-date peak demand figures for Visayas and Mindanao grids also went up by about 10 percent, Cacho said. “At this rate, the 2,000 MW surplus in Mindanao in the medium term could be gone. It could be because of economic activities or just because of the weather condition that we are experiencing.”
Despite the increase in demand, supply levels for Luzon and Visayas improved to 14,612 MW in April from 14,226 MW in March, as fewer power generators were scheduled for outage. Mindanao recorded ample supply levels at around 3,018 MW for March and April.
IEMOP, a nonprofit organization, is the operator of WESM.
