Electricity prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market climbed 3.1 percent in September, according to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines. The Independent Electricity Market Operators of the Philippines or IEMOP reported Tuesday that the national average hit P7.43 per kilowatt-hour as of September 25, up from August’s P7.21 per kWh. It said the rates will be used to calculate spot-market electricity costs billed this October.
Nationwide, total power demand rose 1.8 percent to 14,188 megawatts while total available supply increased 2.4 percent to 20,209 MW. Regional figures show mixed movements across the country. Luzon saw a 5.7 percent rise to P5.18 per kWh, with demand up 2.6 percent. Visayas recorded a 5.2 percent increase to P12.42 per kWh, where demand edged up slightly but supply stayed unchanged, creating a tighter supply margin. Mindanao was the only region with lower prices, dipping 1.4 percent to P12.61 per kWh, accompanied by small drops in both demand and available supply.
IEMOP’s Rica Cagnayo explained that despite generally improved supply conditions, major generation outages in Luzon pushed prices slightly higher. Visayas faced multiple system alerts and outages that added to cost pressures, while stronger interconnection between Visayas and Mindanao helped keep price differences between the two grids narrower. The data covers trading up to September 25, the standard cutoff for spot market billing cycles. These price changes will flow through to consumers and businesses depending on how much power their distribution provider purchases from the spot market, meaning higher spot rates could translate to slightly elevated electricity bills this month for many households and commercial establishments across the country.
