ERC wraps up training for WESM operations

The Spot Market Division (SMD) of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has concluded their intensive training and capacity building in preparation for the operation of the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM), a top ERC official said.

ERC chairman Rodolfo Albano Jr. said the three-phased training assistance (TA) granted by the UK government was intended to enhance the technical capability of the SMD in regulating the WESM.

The TA was made possible through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office‚s Global Opportunities Fund for Economic Governance.

Albano lauded the UK government, for helping the ERC attain technical competence in the regulation of the WESM. EA Technology and consultants Andrew Jackson and John Bennet shared their technical expertise and experience to the SMD staff.

The first phase of the TA conducted in Feb. 2006 was a series of market monitoring discussions involving the experiences of other electricity markets in the evolution and implementation of market monitoring processes around the world.

This was followed by the installation of and initial walk-through on the NEO software, a powerful data analysis and visualization tool specifically developed to handle complex data from multiple sources in real time.

The NEO will serve as the core analysis tool for the ERC. The last phase of the TA was an intensive hands-on training and workshop on the NEO software.