The Department of Energy (DOE) pushed back the commercial operations of the reserve market from Dec. 26, 2023 pending the issuance of a certification from the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) and completion by the Energy Regulatory Commission of its review of the market simulations.
The DOE did not issue a new target date. The reserve market allows for the trading of ancillary services or services that are necessary to support the transmission of capacity and energy from resources to loads, while maintaining the reliable operation of the transmission system.
It issued Department Circular (DC) No. DC2023-09-0026 titled “Declaring the Commercial Operations of the Reserve Market and Providing Further Policies” which provides that the PEMC, the electricity market’s governance arm, should issue a certification on the completeness of the preparations including audit of the systems and readiness of the participants.
“To date, the final preparations for the commercial operations have been substantially completed. However, the WESM governance arm is yet to issue the corresponding certification pending the software certification by the independent auditor, and the ERC is still reviewing the simulations on additional constraints duly submitted by the lEMOP [Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines] for the approval of the price determination methodology,” the department said.
IEMOP is the operator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), the trading floor of electricity.
The DOE asked the market participants to continue the final preparatory activities, particularly the familiarization of the trading participants and the system operator with the reserve market environment.
“Said procedures shall continue to be implemented until the full commercial operations of the reserve market to be declared by the DOE,” the agency said.
“The PEMC, as the WESM governance arm, is likewise directed to closely monitor and undertake necessary actions towards certifying the completion of the training requirements for the full commercial operations of the reserve market,” it said.
