The average price of electricity at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) eased in December, according to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP). It attributed the decrease in the average spot price of power to higher levels of reserves.
As of 10 December this year, the average price per kilowatt-hour at the WESM stood at P3.90 or 5.3 percent lower than only P4.12 per kWh in November.
IEMOP said the average power demand for the period rose 0.65 percent to 13,032 megawatts from 12,948 MW. The average supply decreased by 0.73 percent to 18,712 MW from 18,849 MW, making the average power reserve rise 19.8 percent to 1,346 MW from 1,124 MW.
Isidro Cacho Jr. IEMOP head of trading operations, said the initial P3.90 per kWh WESM price for the month is considered low and may persist until February next year.
Cacho told reporters in a briefing that historically, January is still a cool month when demand is also low but may again pick up towards the end of February.
“If indeed El Niño has an impact, it will start by February. Remember, towards the end of February, we also see that demand begins to pick up,” Cacho added.
As of 10 December, average price per kWh in Luzon stood at P3.89 which is 2.75 percent lower than in November. The average price in the Visayas stood at P4.62 per kWh which is 10.12 percent less in November when it averaged P5.14 per kWh.
As for the Mindanao grid, the WESM price stood at P3.17 per kWh, lower by 13.63 percent than in November when this averaged P3.67 per kWh.
The December numbers are preliminary and can still change, the WESM said.
