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Mindanao power spot market to boost investments in the region, says Marcos


President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. expects the launching of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in Mindanao to boost investments in the region.

At the ceremonial launching of the WESM in Malacañang Monday, Marcos underscored that the presence of WESM would "not only ensure a level playing field in the competitive energy market but will also provide assurance to investors."

“In the long run, WESM will help in sustaining power generation investments to meet the ever-growing electricity demand,” Marcos said.

The WESM is a centralized venue for trading electricity for large-scale buyers and sellers, which aims to establish a competitive and reliable market for electricity, according to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

The PCO said Mindanao has an electrification rate of 87% and "WESM in Mindanao will have a crucial role in the successful operation of the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP) as WESM allows efficient transmission and settlement of electricity exchanges." 

At present, Mindanao has 4,321 megawatts of registered capacity, while its peak demand is only at around 2,167 megawatts. 

The PCO also said that with the establishment of WESM in Mindanao, around 2,000 megawatts of uncontracted capacities can now be sold in the WESM and be dispatched at any given time, providing supply to distribution utilities, electric cooperatives, and other end-users when their contracted power plants are not available.

Meanwhile, Marcos also expressed hope that the drop in fuel prices in the world market would lead to lower power costs not only for industrial users but also for household consumers. -Anna Felicia Bajo / VAL, GMA Integrated News

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