THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said on Tuesday that it lifted the suspension of reserve market settlement transactions, which have been frozen since March.
“The lifting of the suspension paves the way for the resumption of full operations of trading of reserves in the WESM (Wholesale Electricity Spot Market) for contracted and merchant plants, thereby improving grid security,” the ERC said in a statement.
The reserve market allows the system operator to procure power from the WESM to meet the reserve requirements of the power system.
In a notice of resolution dated July 26, the ERC rules that the grounds for suspension are no longer present.
The Philippine Electricity Market Corp. and Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) had complied with the ERC’s directives following the regulator’s evaluation of their application for amending the market’s price determination methodology (PDM).
The PDM helps determine pricing and settlement on the WESM — the trading floor for electricity.
The ERC suspended billing and settlement on the reserve market in March after significant price increases in reserve power costs for the month compared to February.
In May, the regulator ordered the settlement of 30% of the amounts due on reserve market transactions for the March billing month to allow power generators to partially recover their costs.
The full commercial operation of the reserve market commenced in January.
The ERC has ordered the IEMOP to recalculate the resulting reserve trading amounts for the billing periods of February and March 2024, and adjust the value for the remaining 70% for the March billing month.
The ERC directed the system operator, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, to harmonize the timeline of its submission of non-compliances to the IEMOP.
An official order will be issued by the ERC to provide further details on the lifting of the suspension, it said. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
