Electricity spot market starts trial run in Mindanao

The Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) on Wednesday said it has commenced trial runs in Mindanao as part of an initiative to integrate the southern island into the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

PEMC said the trial run started on June 26.

PEMC, the operator of electricity spot market WESM, noted that participants from Mindanao will be involved in conducting "end-to-end" testing of "all interfaces and systems that will involve simulations of all processes such as registration, bid submission, pricing and scheduling, and settlement."

A total of 41 participants from Mindanao have participated in the trial operations.

Among others, the participants include generation companies, distribution utilities, grid-connected customers, and the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) as system operator and metering services provider.

"The trial operations program signals the start of implementing test cases of a market-based mechanism for the efficient scheduling, dispatch and settlement of energy withdrawal and injections in the Mindanao grid brought about by excess generation supply starting in 2016 with the entry of 748 megawatts of new generation capacity which is expected to increase further by 1,260 MW until 2018," the PEMC noted.

The trial run is expected to last for three months, and its success is will serve as criterion for commercial operations of WESM Mindanao.

The integrating Mindanao to the WESM would cover the following:

• Application of the Energy Regulatory Commission-approved Price Determination Methodology for pricing and settlement of electricity transactions in the Mindanao grid

• Utilization of the Market Management System (MMS) for the determination of dispatch schedules in the Mindanao grid

• Access to Mindanao generators and customers for submitting bids, offers, and self-schedules, and other trading functions

• Real-time publication of wholesale prices for electricity in the Mindanao grid on the public website

• Making Mindanao stakeholders eligible to become members of the Philippine Electricity Market Board and its various committees

“PEMC as the designated market operator is committed to ensuring the readiness of the personnel and interfaces of our Mindanao participants to ensure a functional electricity market working in raising the competition and transparency in the power industry,” PEMC President Melinda Ocampo said. — VDS, GMA News