WESM prices rise above P1.00/kWh during Malampaya shutdown
By Myrna M. Velasco – February 23, 2023, 6:58 AM
from Manila Bulletin
Settlement prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) climbed by roughly P1.36 per kilowatt hour (kWh) on average on the two-week duration of the Malampaya gas production facility shutdown, according to a monitoring report by power utility giant Manila Electric Company.
The power company emphasized that the average system price of WESM was at P6.35 per kWh from January 26 to February 3 this year; but that rose to P7.71 per kWh during the gas facility’s maintenance downtime from February 4 to 18.
The January 26 reckoning period will be beneficial in the final calculation of rates in the next billing period because that is the mandated cut-off date in every billing cycle.
As expounded by the utility company, WESM prices prior and during the maintenance schedule of the Malampaya facility had been higher if compared to the January load weighted average price (LWAP) of P5.68 per kWh.
Meralco indicated that the data it gathered covering January 26 to February 18 period had been based on the Daily Operations Report issued by market operator Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) to WESM’s buyers and sellers.
At this point, the power utility company cannot give a definitive assumption yet on the extent of rate hike that may be reflected in the March billing, although it stated that spot prices really escalated during the gas facility’s maintenance period.
March is the start of the scorching summer months; and it is expected that consumers will also be experiencing greater degree of distress in the power system – not only with feared rate hikes, but even tight supply predicaments that if compounded by forced outages of power plants, may lead to unwanted power service interruptions.
Given the recurring quandary of the Luzon grid over strained power supply, Meralco has been intensifying its plea to customers for them to embrace energy efficiency and conservation as a lifestyle choice so they can help shave off demand surge in the system.
“With the scheduled maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya facility that historically leads to higher rates, Meralco continues to urge its customers to practice energy efficiency for better management of their monthly electricity consumption,” the utility firm noted.
Additionally, the power firm has been keenly seeking the participation of more companies to participate in the interruptible load program (ILP) – that way, grid supply can be shored up and that increases probability that residential end-users will also be spared from brownouts.
As of January this year, Meralco reported that it already cornered at least 117 customer-accounts as ILP participants; and the total load they committed for de-loading from the grid will be at the scale of 560 megawatts.
