ELECTRICITY PRICES at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) declined in January due to a higher average system margin, according to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP).
Preliminary data from IEMOP showed that the WESM price system-wide dropped by 14.3% to P2.96 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in January, from P3.45 per kWh in December 2024.
Supply decreased by 0.2% to 20,110 megawatts (MW). Demand, on the other hand, fell by 5.6% to 12,529 MW. This resulted in a 10.26% increase in the average system margin to 7,581 MW.
“Due to the increase in the average system margin, the system average price decreased by 14.3%, dropping to P2.96 per kWh,” said Arjon B. Valencia, manager for corporate planning and communications at IEMOP.
In Luzon, the spot price decreased by 8.5% month-on-month, falling to P2.98 per kWh from P3.26 per kWh.
Available supply dropped by 1.6% to 13,962 MW. Demand also decreased by 6.4% to 8,741 MW.
WESM prices in the Visayas declined by 19.1% to P3.13 per kWh from P3.87 per kWh the previous month.
The grid’s supply dropped by 4.5% to 2,372 MW. Demand fell by 4.4% to 1,856 MW.
For Mindanao, IEMOP said that WESM prices decreased by 31.9% month-on-month to P2.65 per kWh from P3.88 per kWh.
Supply increased by 8.7% to 3,775 MW, while demand declined by 2.9% to 1,931 MW.
IEMOP operates the WESM, where energy companies can buy power when their long-term contracted supply is insufficient to meet customer needs. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera