Phil Electricity Market inks deal with PLDT

The Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) has entered into an agreement with Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. for a systems linkage between the wholesale electricity spot markets (WESM) of Visayas and Luzon.

PEMC executive vice president Mario Pangilinan said the agreement will resolve the last remaining issue in the establishment of WESM in the Visayas.

He said this also pave the way for the Visayas-based electricity spot market to kick off by Jan. 26 next year, subject to the approval of the Department of Energy (DOE).

State-run National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) earlier said it may enter into a lease agreement with Globe Telecom to facilitate the creation of a wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) in the Visayas.

However, in a bidding held over the weekend, it was PLDT that emerged as the winner.

Undergoing a series of tests, the Visayas WESM is envisioned to go into commercial operation before the end of January next year. PEMC has been conducting trial operations for the WESM in the Visayas, including its integration into the WESM in Luzon since 2005.

PEMC, the operator of WESM, said as of end-August, there has been a high level of cooperation for the Visayas-WESM.

At least 19 power generators and 58 directly-connected customers have registered with PEMC. Of the 19 generators, 10 are owned by the state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor); one by Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM); two are being run by Global Business Power Corp.; one by PNOC-Energy Development Corp.; and five by independent power producers (IPPs).

Of the 58 directly-connected customers, 27 are rural cooperatives; 27 are industrial and commercial loads and four are private distribution utilities.

The 19 generators have a total capacity of 1,503 megawatts while the directly-connected customers have a combined 1,085-mw capacity.

The generation mix in the Visayas is predominantly geothermal (81 percent) while the diesel generators comprise 10 percent, coal, nine percent and hydro a minimal percentage.