Power spot market rates to remain low this month

With the cool weather leading to lower demand, electricity rates in the country’s Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) will remain low this month, according to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP).

Based on data from IEMOP, system-wide WESM rates were down by 14.3 percent to P2.96 per kilowatt-hour from P3.45 per kWh on a monthly basis, which was attributed to the lower rate in the “increase in the average system margin.”

For the billing period covering December 26, 2024 to January 25, 2025, overall supply dipped by 0.2 percent to 20,110 megawatts from 20,150 MW, while demand plunged by 5.6 percent to 12,529 MW from 13,275 MW.

IEMOP corporate planning and communications manager Arjon Valencia disclosed that the lower rates resulted in a system margin, or the difference between the available supply and the actual demand, of 7,581 MW that is 10.26 percent higher than December’s 6,875 MW.

Operated by IEMOP, WESM is the centralized venue for buying and selling electricity as a commodity where prices are determined by supply and demand. WESM rates in all the three major island groups declined, with Luzon going down by 8.5 percent to P2.98 per kWh, Visayas by 19.1 percent to P3.13 per kWh and Mindanao by 31.9 percent to P2.65 per kWh.

By region, Luzon’s supply was lower by 1.6 percent to 13,962 MW from 14,193 MW, while its demand decreased by 6.4 percent to 8,741 MW from 9,344 MW.

In the Visayas grid, supply dipped by 4.5 percent to 2,372 MW from 2,485 MW, while demand decreased by 4.4 percent to 1,856 MW from 1,942 MW.

Mindanao’s supply, meanwhile, increased by 8.7 percent to 3,775 MW from 3,473 MW, while demand edged 2.9 percent lower to 1,931 MW from 1,989 MW.

Valencia noted that coal remains the dominant energy source, though its share decreased from 58.87 percent in December 2024 to 55 percent in January 2025 while share from natural gas, meanwhile, rose to 17 percent from 15 percent, he said.

He added that renewable sources, particularly hydro generation, saw a slight rebound, rising to 956 gigawatt-hours in January from the previous month’s 905 GWh.

“Wind and solar energy showed minimal changes, with wind generation slightly decreasing and solar generation slightly increasing in January 2025,” the IEMOP executive cited without giving further details. TRACY CABRERA