The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines, operator of the electricity spot market targets to launch the Reserve Market by September 26.
The RM allows for the trading of ancillary services or services that are necessary to support the transmission of capacity and energy from resources to loads, while maintaining the reliable operation of the transmission system.
IEMOP started the trial operations program for the RM on June 26 that will run for three months.
“The TOP is scheduled to run for three months. The PDM (Price Determination Methodology) is still the key before commercial operations can be launched. So if approved this July, then we can go commercial at the earliest by Sept. 26,” IEMOP chief operating officer Robinson Descanzo said.
IEMOP issued an advisory informing generation companies accredited as ancillary service providers that they are mandated to register in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market and participate in the TOP.
Accredited AS providers are those with valid AS capability certificates that were issued by National Grid Corp. of the Philippines that has not expired before July 31, 2023.
DOE said in a separate advisory that the TOP is a non-binding exercise for the RM participants to test all market systems for registration, scheduling, dispatch and pricing, metering, cost recovery, and settlement.
Non-binding exercise means that the results of the TOP shall not be used commercially for scheduling, dispatch, settlement, and cost recovery.
DOE said all generating units shall continue to adhere to the “Protocol for the Central Scheduling and Dispatch of Energy and Contracted Reserves” where AS shall continue to be scheduled, dispatched, and settled by grid operator NGCP in accordance with its Ancillary Services Procurement Agreement.
Meanwhile, DOE directed the Philippine Electricity Market Corp., the WESM’s governance arm to complete the audit of the software enhancements to the market systems as part of the readiness criteria for the RM commercial operations.
DOE said all gencos accredited as AS providers are mandated to register and fully participate in the TOP exercises.
It said gencos registered as accredited AS providers shall offer their maximum available capacity for each dispatch interval in the co-optimized WESM for energy and reserves in accordance with the WESM Rules and corresponding Market Manuals.
“All concerned participants are reminded to complete their respective preparations towards achieving readiness for the commercial operations of the RM,” the agency said.