The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines reported an increase in the average prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market by P2 per kilowatt-hour in the first 10 days of September on increased demand.
IEMOP said in its latest monthly briefing the average market price rose to P9.02 per kilowatt-hour as of Sept. 10 from P7.26 per kWh in August.
The spot market operator said peak demand continuously increased starting July.
“So far, our peak demand in Luzon increased by 187 MW [megawatts] to 11,459 MW, while in the Visayas, the demand peaked at 2,225 MW, higher by 34 MW. The recent planned and forced generator outages have also resulted in an increase in spot market prices and, very recently, an issuance of red and yellow alerts in the Luzon grid,” the agency said in a statement.
IEMOP said the recent planned and forced power generator outages and the issuance of red and yellow alerts in the Luzon grid also led to increased spot market prices.
“As such, IEMOP reiterates the importance to save up and efficiently manage our electricity consumption which will not only save on our electricity cost but also immediately help in mitigating reduced supply margins,” it said.
IEMOP said electricity prices dropped in August by P1.66 per kWh to P7.26 per kWh on increased supply margin equivalent to 844 MW.
The lower market price also resulted in an uptick in customer purchases in the spot market, averaging about 14 percent of the energy consumption, compared to the 8.3 percent purchases in the preceding month.
IEMOP said total demand increased to 10,670 megawatts as of Sept. 10 from 10,485 MW in August. The total available power supply, however, declined to 13,706 MW from 14,277 MW in August.
Peak demand reached 11,459 MW in Luzon in September, higher than the recorded 11,272 MW in August.
Data from the Department of Energy showed Luzon would face thin reserves for the entire month of October.
Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla recently cited in his presentation to the Senate that for the Luzon Grid, “we are in danger of not meeting the required contingency reserves in the month of October.”