THE Philippine Electricity Market Corp.’s (PEMC) Enforcement and Compliance Office (ECO) has so far received 1,611 cases that mostly involve violations of the Must-Offer Rule.
PEMC President Melinda L. Ocampo said in her report delivered during the Ninth WESM (Wholesale Electricity Spot Market) annual participants’ meeting that the WESM saw a significant increase in the number of cases referred for investigation to the ECO as a result of the monthly endorsement by the Market Surveillance Committee.
“As of June 2015, the ECO has received 1,611 RFI since February 2014,” Ocampo said. “These involves incidents on must offer rule and real time response. But it’s mostly violations of the Must-Offer Rule,” the PEMC official said.
The ECO will make a report that will serve as basis of the PEMC board for the penalties that will be meted out against the violators.
Ocampo reported that the market experienced significant price spikes in the last quarter of 2013. PEMC has investigated nine WESM players for possible violation of the Must-Offer Rule. The violators have breached WESM rules, such as the provision of real-time dispatch, among others.
“As reported last year, PEMC provided support to the DOE [Department of Energy] and ERC [Energy Regulatory Commission], in their probe into the events, including a review of existing market mitigating measures, and the conduct of investigations on the possible violation of the Must-Offer Rule.
This is a testament to the market’s determination to strengthen its monitoring and enforcement processes, with a view to promote accountability and foster a culture of compliance,” Ocampo said.
The newly appointed chairman of the ERC, who was present during the PEMC event last week, said the market is working and that the public is benefiting well from the good performance of the WESM.
“If my first impression about the spot market is correct, then let us make it a lasting one. Let’s make sure it continues to work…and to work well,” Jose Vicente Salazar said.
The PEMC official further reported that on its ninth year of operations, the WESM reflected a record system high peak demand of 10,342 megawatts (MW). On the other hand, while supply was generally affected by the planned or forced outages of some generating units, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) vigilant efforts in promoting proper scheduling of maintenance outages proved successful as supply was sufficient to address the demand during the summer months with generator offers recording a maximum offer of 10,866 MW.
“The PEMC is resolved to fully realize the objectives of the EPIRA in promoting transparency in electricity pricing and provide a level playing field to all electric power industry participants. With the robust enforcement and compliance framework present in the spot market, we assure everyone that competition thrives in the market where all players are encouraged to abide with the WESM Rules and Manuals,” Ocampo said.