‘Electricity spot market prices rose in June’

Average electricity spot market prices rose in June as planned and forced generator outages resulted in a lower supply margin, according to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP).

At a virtual briefing yesterday, the IEMOP said average wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) prices climbed to P8.51 per kilowatt-hour last month from P6.21 per kWh in May.

Supply levels decreased by around 192 megawatts to 15,214 MW due to generator outages, while average demand rose by 66 MW to 11,325 MW, bringing down supply margin by 258 MW or 6.22 percent month-onmonth.

Peak demand for Luzon and the Visayas fell by 350 MW or 2.43 percent compared to the previous month due to the onset of the rainy season, which dampened the use of cooling systems.

On a year-on-year comparison, however, demand was higher by 278 MW or 2.02 percent.

Luzon’s peak demand was lower by 265 MW, while the Visayas was lower by 63 MW.

For the market transactions, the effective settlement spot price last month increased to P9.01 per kWh from P6.42 per kWh.

“While a variety of factors drive changes in electricity market prices, mainly the supply demand interaction, it is also largely dependent on the offer price of the generators, which considers fuel prices – to which we have observed a surge in prices (oil, coal, liquefied natural gas) in the previous weeks,” the IEMOP said.

As a result, it said the secondary price cap (SPC) mechanism was also applied 35.17 percent of the time in June.

The SPC was set in place to protect consumers against sustained high WESM prices

The IEMOP said that with the increase in market price, spot market purchases decreased.

It said customer spot quantity last month stood at only 9.1 percent, equivalent to 714 gigawatt-hours of the total requirement for electricity in the Luzon and Visayas grids.

The volume of energy purchased in the WESM for June was also the lowest for the second quarter.

A majority or around 90 percent of the electricity consumption of end users was sourced by the distribution utilities through power supply agreements with generation companies at their approved contract prices.

An official of the Catholic Church assured farmers and fisherfolk of help amid the increasing prices of basic commodities in the Philippines.

Puerto Princesa Bishop Socrates Mesiona said in an interview over Church-run Radyo Veritas that he is one with the farmers and fisherfolk who are greatly affected by the crisis.

Mesiona said that his vow to help people affected by the increasing prices of basic commodities is in line with their discussion during the National Synodal Consultation at the Carmelite Missionaries Center for Spirituality.

Amid all the hardships, Tagbilaran Bishop Alberto Uy was saddened by the apparent emergence of “casinos” in the Philippines, which he said was disturbing and something that affects the morality of the people.

In a separate interview on Radyo Veritas, Uy said that he is referring to some gaming institutions that were green-lighted by the government in a bid to raise more funds through tax collection.

He asked the Catholic faithful to join him in storming the heavens with prayers that government officials, especially in Bohol, will not support illegal gambling or the establishment of any gaming institutions.

Instead of supporting illegal activities, Uy said that he is urging the government to push for “Christian leadership” and emulate the leadership style of Jesus Christ.