Enlistment kicks off for participants in WESM-Mindanao

With the launch of trial operations this week, formal registration of participants to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in Mindanao also formally kicked off, according to a directive issued by the Department of Energy (DOE).

Direct members to WESM-Mindanao are the power generators who would want to channel their uncontracted capacities into the spot market; while the off-takers such as the distribution utilities (DUs), electric cooperatives and other buyers (capacity purchasers) are often treated as indirect participants or could also be direct participants depending on their financial capacity.

As assessed, there are 81 prospective participants into WESM-Mindanao, that are all “deemed registered” based on the design set by the energy department for the spot market in the grid.

The DOE stipulated that it will formally declare “commercial operations date” for Mindanao-WESM upon compliance to all conditions precedent as set out under its Circular.

Primarily, the DOE noted that the trial operations program (TOP) shall have already been “successfully implemented.” This is part of the process to ensure the “readiness” of the WESM system for commercial operations, as well as that of the market partici- pants.

According to market operator Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC), the TOP would normally take three-month duration, or “until all criteria have been met.”

The DOE further requires that “all systems and procedures including all interfaces between and among the WESM participants necessary for the operation of the WESM in the Mindanao grid are in place and in conformity with the requirements set under the WESM Rules and Market Manuals.”

There is also a need to ensure that “forecasting, scheduling, dispatch, pricing, metering and settlement processes” shall be fully operational prior to portended commercial take-off.

A regulatory approval on the Price Determination Methodology (PDM) will likewise be a crucial requirement. The application on this was filed by PEMC at the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) May this year.

Another critical compliance would be a certification by an independent auditor that the new market management system (NMMS) of WESM-Mindanao works within the framework of the prescribed market rules and manuals.

The DOE, after three months, will be requiring market operator PEMC to submit “compliance report” on the pre-set conditions before it gives final go-signal for the Mindanao spot market to be on commercial stream.