The average price at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in Luzon and Visayas, when both grids were placed on red and yellow alert last week, surged to as high as P13.39 and P14.64 per kilowatt hour (kWh), respectively.
Data from the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (Iemop) showed that on April 16, when the red alert was first issued by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), Luzon WESM rates stood at P5.55 per kWh while Visayas WESM rates reached P5.73 per kWh.
The following day, the WESM rates for both grids rose to P8.12 per kWh in Luzon and P8.29 per kWh in Visayas.
On April 18, WESM rates further went up to P13.39 per kWh in Luzon and P14.64 per kWh in the Visayas.
The NGCP placed both grids on red and yellow alerts for those days. A red alert status is issued when the power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand and the transmission grid’s regulating requirement while a yellow alert is issued when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement.
The WESM operator, IEMOP, said these prices are still subject to pricing validations, which will take place by the end of the current WESM billing month.
The system peak demand has reached 18,256 megawatts (MW) at 4:50 p.m. last April 17 with a supply of 20,108MW. While the margin of supply met the demand, localized power interruptions have been experienced in areas of extremely high demand.
“Iemop supports the Department of Energy’s campaign to implement energy conservation measures and optimize energy usage during peak hours in both businesses and households.”
The red alert was again raised on April 19 in Luzon and the Visayas.
“The Visayas grid was upgraded to red alert status due to higher forecasted demand in Visayas and Mindanao, resulting in less power shared by Mindanao through the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection,” NGCP said last week.
Both grids were on normal condition the following day, April 20.