The cost of power sold at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) has proven more expensive in May, according to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP).
The increase in spot market power rates was traced to higher demand.
As of 25 May, the price per kilowatt hour (kWh) at WESM averaged P8.22 or 19.1 percent higher than in April of only P6.90 per kWh.
The IEMOP said demand during the period rose 9.1 percent to 15,688 megawatts (MW) from 14,375 MW even as supply increased by 2.3 percent to 19,648 MW from 19,199 MW.
In a separate development, the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has secured additional commitments from Pioneer Float Glass Manufacturing Inc. and Anglo Watsons Glass Inc. under the interruptible load program (ILP)
Meralco said Pioneer Float Glass agreed to provide 2-MW of capacity at its manufacturing plant in Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City while Anglo Watsons will contribute 2.3 MW from its Calamba, Laguna facility.
“These commitments reflect our shared dedication to alleviating strain on the power grid, ultimately benefiting thousands of small businesses and households by minimizing rotational power interruptions,” said Ma. Cecilia Domingo, Meralco vice president and head of enterprise and national government, in a statement.
Over 100 companies with more than 500-MW de-loading capacity across the Meralco franchise area are enrolled in the ILP.
As this develops, the Luzon Grid remains under yellow alert on Tuesday, according to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
The yellow alert was raised over Luzon at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday as 20 power plant units were on forced outage or compelled to de-rate, resulting in the loss of capacity of 2,280.8 MW.
This was also raised over Luzon from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 12 midnight of June 5 as 16 power plant units went down and four more operated on de-rated capacities.
Yellow alerts are issued when reserve power in the grid is low and power interruptions are not yet imminent.
According to the NGCP, the available capacity in Luzon total only 14,461 MW against peak demand of 13,612 MW.
