Mindanao power crunch may ease in summer

The Philippine Electricity Market Corp. will set aside P55 million to set up the Interim Mindanao Energy Market (IMEM), which is aimed at easing the 200-megawatt power supply crunch in Mindanao during the coming summer months.

Based on its application with the Energy Regulatory Commission, PEMC is planning to source P34.26 million of the amount from the unused market fees collected last year. But PEMC needs to first secure the approval of the commission prior to the reallocation of the said amount as the rules state that any unutilized fund must be refunded to customers.

PEMC, which operates the wholesale electricity spot markets in Luzon and Visayas, stressed the need for the immediate issuance of a provisional authority for it to use the market fees, as the IMEM is being eyed as an interim solution that can help ease the dire power supply situation in Mindanao.

Based on a circular issued by the Department of Energy last month, PEMC has been directed to develop and implement the IMEM, which will serve as a venue for “transparent and efficient utilization of all available capacities particularly during periods wherein the contracted supply capacities of the load customers such as the distribution utilities and the industrial customers are not enough to meet their demand.”

The IMEM is likewise expected to result in the reflection of the “true cost of electric power to encourage dispatch and utilization of existing available power generating facilities and/or to attract the entry of new generating capacities in Mindanao.”

The circular further stated that the proposed IMEM will have various features, including a day-ahead market wherein participants may submit their nominations a day before the actual delivery or curtailment of energy and a governance framework to ensure free and fair competition and public accountability.

The IMEM will also provide for energy efficiency incentives meant to contribute to the supply in the grid; real time imbalance correction through the use of a merit order table provided by the IMEM operator, which in this case will be the PEMC.

The government targets to implement the IMEM by next month.  Amy R. Remo