ELECTRICITY spot prices rose in early April due to the increase in demand, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) said.
The IEMOP said the average price at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) system-wide rose 33% to P6.90 per kilowatt hour (kWh).
Supply rose 2.1% to 19,210 megawatts (MW) while the demand was up 9.2% at 14,375 MW.
“Demand continues to rise across all regions as the summer season progresses and the heat index increases,” the IEMOP said.
The average WESM price in Luzon rose 31.6% month on month to P6.63 per kWh.
Supply grew 4.5% to 13,308 MW. Demand, meanwhile, jumped 10.1% to 10,310 MW.
In the Visayas, the spot price increased 39.5% from a month earlier to P8.73 per kWh.
For early April, supply fell 2.3% month on month to 2,349 MW while demand hit 2,002 MW, up 7.4%.
The spot price in Mindanao rose 40.9% from a month earlier to P6.43 per kWh.
Mindanao’s supply dropped 3.5% to 3,553 MW while demand increased 6.6% to 2,063 MW.
The IEMOP said that 19.68% of the trading intervals for April were subjected to the secondary price cap (SPC) compared to the previous month’s 7.04%.
The SPC is imposed when the rolling average of the generator weighted average price exceeds P9 per kWh, the market operator said.
“Congestion manifested for the month (7,501 intervals) is more than the March 2024 billing month (3,695 intervals) wherein during this scenario, high-priced plants cleared to meet the demand (such as oil-based),” the IEMOP said.
IEMOP operates the WESM, where energy companies purchase power when their long-term contracted power supply is insufficient to meet customer needs. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera