DOE launches Mindanao electricity market DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The government hopes to bring in additional capacity to bridge Mindanao’s power supply gap as the Interim Mindanao Electricity Market (IMEM) kicks-off commercial operations today (Sept. 26, 2013). At the IMEM launch held here last week, Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said that IMEM aims to provide the platform for electricity market in Mindanao, in an effort help to address the island’s supply shortfall. The electricity market is expected to draw in about 100 to 150 megawatts of power, with supply-deficient electric cooperatives likely to buy capacity requirements. “IMEM is not here as a final institution with final rules. It will react according to the needs of the electricity market rather than put out final procedures that cannot be changed,” Petilla said. He added that IMEM is by far the most dynamic way of extracting uncontracted and available power capacities in Mindanao. IMEM is designed to provide an immediate venue for transparent and efficient utilization of additional capacities to address Mindanao’s energy supply shortfall. This commercial electricity market will allow energy distributors to sell power supply from its embedded generators to areas having deficit. All of the distribution utilities and other generation capacities connected to the Mindanao power system are mandated to participate in the IMEM. However, the market is also encouraging the participation of the voluntary load customers through load curtailment or synchronized self-generation. “We are assured of sufficient supply two years from now but in the meantime, we welcome the upcoming operations of Mindanao’s own electricity market to ease up deficiency,” said Mindanao Development Authority chair Luwalhati Antonino. She added that although load curtailment are expected in parts of Mindanao mainly due to scheduled preventive maintenance of the some power plants, the entry of capacities in the IMEM would result to better power outlook, said Antonino. Since last year, many areas in Mindanao such as Zamboanga City and General Santos City were affected with rotating brownouts of up to six- to eight hours. “We will extract every possible source we can find, with the dispatch protocol made fully transparent to all players,” said Petilla, adding that no electricity market will operate without a transparency mechanism. IMEM is also seen as a pilot test for Mindanao’s eventual transition to Wholesale Electricity Spot Market in Mindanao, once generation adequacy is established for the island-region. “I am not really too much worried about Mindanao in the long-term because by 2015, especially in 2016, there will enough power to the extent that there will be oversupply in the region,” said Petilla.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 06:03:03 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015