Electricity spot market prices rose in September

Average electricity spot market prices in early September climbed by nearly P2 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from a month ago as demand rose with the resumption of in-person classes in the country, according to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (Iemop).

The Iemop, in a virtual briefing, said the average Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) prices as of Sept. 10 increased to P9.02 per kWh from P7.26 per kWh in August.

WESM is the centralized venue for trading electricity as a commodity. Operated by Iemop, this is the electricity distributors’ go-to marketplace for supplementing their primary supply.

“We will still have to observe what the final price will be until the September billing period ends,” Iemop knowledge management services assistant manager Josell Co said.

For the comparative period, supply levels dropped by almost 4 percent to 13,706 megawatts from 14,277 MW yet demand rose by 1.8 percent to 10,670 MW from 10,485 MW.

“If we remember in the last week of July, some universities and schools already started face-to-face classes while others began in the first week of September. That would also be a contributing factor to the observed increase in our average demand, especially starting September,” added Co.