THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said it is expecting the reserve market to return to full operations next month.
“Most likely by next month or sooner we can resume commercial operations,” ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Monalisa C. Dimalanta said on the sidelines of a forum last week.
Last month, the ERC approved the partial settlement of 30% of the amounts due for payment covering transactions on the reserve market for the billing month of March, valued at around P1.7 billion.
The remaining 70% or around P4.02 billion will be collected once the reserve market fully resumes operations.
In its suspension order in March, the regulator said that “significant price increases” were reported in reserve costs for March compared to February.
Ms. Dimalanta said that the cost to consumers needs to be considered by the ERC in order to minimize the impact on power rates.
“That will be resolved once we finalize the approval for the pending case,” she said via Viber.
She was referring to the application of the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines to approve the market’s price determination methodology.
The reserve market allows the system operator to procure power reserves from the spot market to meet the reserve requirements of the energy system.
On electricity rates, Ms. Dimalanta said that she is hoping for the rates at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market to fall during the cooler months.
“I hope there will be more breathing space for rates, unlike what happened during the dry months,” she said. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
