As required by Republic Act No. 9136, in any other case often called the Electrical Energy Trade Reform Act (EPIRA), the Impartial Electrical energy Market Operator of the Philippines, Inc. (IEMOP) serves because the unbiased market operator of the Wholesale Electrical energy Spot Market (WESM), a centralized venue amongst large-scale electrical energy patrons and sellers.
Established in 2018, the IEMOP is liable for pursuing the target of the WESM of getting a good, aggressive, and dependable electrical energy market within the Philippines. It’s centered on facilitating electrical commerce and delivering market options, and it serves as a platform for wholesale electrical energy buying and selling, together with demand forecasting, monitoring and settlement. It’s tasked as properly with adopting one of the best practices in market options and operations, guaranteeing transparency, accessibility, and effectivity within the evolving vitality panorama.
Because it marks six years of serving the electrical energy business this 12 months, the IEMOP strives to information and empower the Philippine electrical energy sector by way of its latest capacity-building, knowledge-sharing, and growth initiatives, amongst others.
“Over the previous six years, IEMOP has been steadfastly contributing to growth and innovation within the vitality business, attaining a number of vital milestones reminiscent of the combination of Mindanao into the WESM and, extra just lately, the graduation of the Ancillary Service Market which has reworked WESM right into a co-optimized vitality and reserves market,” IEMOP President and Chief Govt Officer Atty. Richard J. Nethercott mentioned in an announcement.
“Because the vitality panorama evolves, IEMOP stays devoted to adopting greatest practices in market operations and exploring new methods to innovate, all whereas upholding the core WESM ideas of competitors, transparency, accessibility, and effectivity,” he added.
“IEMOP acknowledges the invaluable assist of the DoE (Division of Power), ERC (Power Regulatory Fee), PEMC (Philippine Electrical energy Market Corp.), market contributors, and all stakeholders because it marks its 6th 12 months of market operations. IEMOP is dedicated to constantly enhance as a company and face the challenges of an ever-evolving electrical energy market.”
Empowering gatherings
Since final 12 months, IEMOP has aimed to assist the expansion and growth of the electrical energy business by way of various occasions for capacity-building, collaborations, and discussions.
For example, IEMOP hosted this 12 months’s Philippine Electrical Energy Trade Discussion board (PEPIF) final April 5 on the Iloilo Conference Middle in Iloilo Metropolis. The discussion board introduced business gamers to strengthen collaborations and construct partnerships throughout the sector. It additionally highlighted the challenges, alternatives, in addition to shared one of the best practices and explored the newest developments and growth within the electrical energy business.
Themed “Powering a Sustainable and Safe Power Future for the Nation,” this 12 months’s PEPIF matters included, amongst others, “Philippine Power Transition Plan — Alternatives and Challenges within the Renewable Sector,” “Attaining 100% Rural Electrification by way of Renewable Power,” “Attaining RE Combine Targets whereas Making certain Dependable Provide for Finish-Customers,” and “Nation’s Path In the direction of Attaining a Sustainable and Safe Power Future.”
IEMOP’s Capability Constructing Alternate on Electrical energy Markets Discussion board was additionally one other profitable initiative, bringing vitality stakeholders and teams in a single area. This three-day discussion board is designed to equip business gamers with electrical energy market design, practices and packages carried out in electrical energy markets in different jurisdictions. This discussion board was funded by the US Division of State in partnership with the US Power Affiliation (USEA) and in coordination with the DoE, ERC, and different vitality stakeholders and teams.
In partnership with international consulting and market insights firm Deloitte, IEMOP additionally hosted a workshop exploring the rising integration of renewable vitality techniques within the nation. This workshop aimed to share insights on vitality transition, develop a high-level highway map, and strategic approaches for navigating the shift to the renewable vitality panorama.
The IEMOP additionally just lately held a “Kumustahan” session with the Philippine Rural Electrical energy Cooperatives Affiliation, Inc. (PHILRECA), amongst others, which served as one other platform for discuss-ing the newest updates, developments and the ECs considerations out there. It additionally emphasised the organiza-tion’s dedication to sustaining sturdy communication with its contributors and stakeholders. This session was organized in coordination with the DoE, ERC, and the Nationwide Grid Company of the Philippines (NGCP).
As extra personal sector gamers are transitioning to sustainability, efforts to ramp up vitality transition is seen, with many focusing on for extra renewable vitality share of their grid. Main this cost, the Inexperienced Power Choice Program (GEOP) is making sustainable actions simpler for the electrical energy business. GEOP is a authorities program designed to permit companies to supply their vitality immediately from renewable vitality suppliers. This program offers a sustainable answer for business gamers, selling using low-carbon sources and lowering the nation’s dependence on nonrenewable sources, all whereas reinforcing their dedication to setting sustainability.
In gentle of this, the IEMOP spearheaded a sequence of retail market focus group discussions and took half in numerous GEOP campaigns organized by a local weather advocate group, which emphasised the impression of GEOP and empow-ered end-users to decide on renewable vitality in assembly their vitality necessities.
“The Inexperienced Power Choice Program, subsumed underneath the aggressive retail vitality market, is a mechanism to empower end-users to decide on renewable vitality in assembly their vitality necessities,” Engr. Arjon Valencia, company planning and communications supervisor of IEMOP, mentioned.
Additionally, as a central registration physique for the retail market (RCOA and GEOP), the IEMOP is liable for managing the entire course of and facilitating info trade for this system.
Optimizing capacities
Embarking on one other milestone, IEMOP launched the pilot stage of the Reserve Market on Dec. 26, 2023 and carried out full industrial operations on Jan. 26, 2024. The pilot stage was designed to reinforce the opti-mization of market operators and system operators interfaces, alongside streamlining the central scheduling and dispatch of contacted ancillary companies, and automating real-time dispatch of dedicated ancillary companies.
By the Reserve Market, the IEMOP endeavors to make sure ample and dependable energy provide throughout the nation. Finally, the Reserve Market will deal with co-optimization of electrical energy by offering a variety of electrical energy companies that create one of the best vitality combine. Moreover, it’s going to function a platform for buyers tapping into new alternatives with reference with producing capacities for each vitality and reserves. This initiative helps WESM’s objectives in providing environment friendly but reasonably priced electrical energy out there.
“The pursuit of a co-optimized electrical energy market has been a problem because the starting of the WESM. [But] numerous establishments, along with IEMOP and different stakeholders, have labored collectively to lastly see the daybreak of a co-optimized WESM. This certainly is a crucial achievement,” Mr. Nethercott mentioned in a earlier assertion.
“The operation of the Reserve Market within the Philippine WESM is a testomony to our shared dedication to the expansion of the Philippine Power Sector; a development that ensures reliability, embraces innovation, and promotes competitors, all resulting in transparency and reasonableness of our energy charges,” Atty. Monalisa Dimalanta, chairperson and chief govt officer of the ERC, mentioned in one other assertion.
As well as, the IEMOP additionally marked a milestone within the integration of the Mindanao grid to the WESM, which President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. mentioned will assist decrease energy charges and bolster investments and financial exercise within the area.
Following its ceremonial launch final 12 months, WESM Mindanao has marked success within the first month of its operations. In keeping with the IEMOP, the Efficient Spot Settlement Worth (ESSP) reported was at P5.23 per kilowatt-hour, which was pushed by the numerous provide margin within the area, averaging at 1,429 megawatts (MW).
Furthermore, WESM Mindanao’s scheduling and dispatching mills in the course of the preliminary months of operations is discovered to have boosted the safety and reliability of the electrical energy provide within the area’s grid. Notably, in efforts to assist the area’s buying and selling contributors, the IEMOP is operating roadshows, focus group discussions, in addition to being actively concerned with stakeholders.
Alongside the numerous improve of system demand and electrical energy costs, one of many 12 months’s standout initiatives, the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Challenge (MVIP), was launched and is now totally operational, con-necting Mindanao to the facility grids of Visayas after which Luzon.
“The Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Challenge has considerably improved provide safety within the Visayas and Luzon grids by permitting extra energy of as much as 450 MW to be exported from the Mindanao grid. On common, The MVIP allowed a mean of 341 MW to be exported to Visayas, whereas the Leyte-Luzon HVDC hyperlink connecting Visayas to Luzon supplied a mean of extra 296 MW to assist assembly the demand within the Luzon grid,” the IEMOP mentioned in an announcement. — Angela Kiara S. Brillantes
