The average price of electricity at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) fell lower in September as power demand slowed even as supply availability increased, according to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP).
As of 25 September, the price per kilowatt hour (kWh) at WESM averaged only P3.88 or 34.7 percent lower compared to only P5.94 per kWh in August.
The IEMOP reported demand for the period slowed by 3.4 percent to 13,700 megawatts (MW) from 14,186 MW as supply increased 3.2 percent to 20,348 MW from 19,718 MW.
The IEMOP attributed the favorable price at WESM to a large and sustained system supply margin occasioned by cooler weather conditions.
During the period, the price per kWh at WESM in Luzon averaged P3.80 per kWh, or 39.1 percent lower than only P6.24 per kWh in August. WESM prices in the Visayas averaged P4.56 representing a 34.2 percent drop from only P6.93 per kWh in August.
But the Mindanao grid posted higher WESM prices averaging P3.48 per kWh or 3.3 percent more than only (3.37 per kWh in August.
The IEMOP said more expensive WESM prices in Mindanao resulted from outages of some power plants in the region during the billing period.
The IEMOP also said the September numbers are preliminary.
