INITIAL average price of electricity in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) for August decreased, according to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP).
Based on data from IEMOP, the drop was driven by the higher increase of power supply availability despite a recorded growth in demand for the period.
As of August 25, average price per kilowatt hour (kWh) in WESM for the entire Philippines was at P5.94 which is 0.4 percent lower from full month July’s P5.97 per kWh.
IEMOP said total average demand in the country for the period went up by 1.4 percent to 14,186 megawatts (MW) from 13,989 MW while average supply increased 4.5 percent to 19,718 MW from 18,867 MW.
“Despite the increase in demand, available supply is higher for this specific billing period.
Hence, there is a wider supply margin mainly because the hydro power plants’ contribution has increased from 6.7 percent to 10 percent,” IEMOP said, in a statement yesterday.
As of August 25, average price per kWh in the WESM for Luzon was at P6.24 per kWh which is 5.5 percent higher than full month July’s P5.92 per kWh.
Average WESM price for Visayas was at P6.93 which is 7.6 percent less than full month July’s P7.50 per kWh while average WESM price per kWh for the Mindanao grid was at P3.37, lower by 27.8 percent from full month July’s P4.67 per kWh.
