Power spot market ready to operate this month
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Abigail L. HoInquirer
THE Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WSM) is prepared to start commercial operations by Jan. 20, or as soon as the Energy Regulatory Commission approves its price determination methodology and market fees, its operator said Friday.
The electricity bourse could go live even with just a 15-minute notice by that date, said Lasse Holopainen, president of WESM market operator Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC).
"That's how ready we are. But the regulator has to approve the PDM and the market fees," he said at a media briefing.
Similar to the stock market, the WESM will allow trading of electricity among power producers, distribution utilities and large power consumers.
PEMC will have to get approval of the Department of Energy as well as the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) before it starts operations, Holopainen said.
The company submitted its price determination methodology (PDM) application last September to the ERC, which sought additional documents.
The PDM will be the basis for calculating prices in the electricity spot market. It will serve as a formula for computing how much electricity should be priced within a certain hour.
The ERC also has yet to approve PEMC's market fees application, which the company submitted on Nov. 14.
Registered participants in the market trials represent more than 10,000 megawatts of generation and 5,000 megawatts of demand from power distributors and other large electricity users.
These include independent power producers Mirant Philippines Corp., Kepco Philippines Corp. and First Gas Power Corp.; power distributor Manila Electric Co.; and state firms National Transmission Corp. and Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.
Market trials in the Visayas grid also started last month in preparation for full commercial operations by June next year. With INQ7.net
posted by philpower @ 8:04 AM,
