The Department of Energy (DOE) issued Department Circular No. 2021-06-0015, declaring the Commercial Operations of the Enhanced WESM Design and Operations (EWDO) on 26 June 2021, in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. This milestone, much like the transition of WESM operations to an Independent Market Operator (IMO), would finally be achieved under the current DOE leadership. The EWDO, which was initially conceived way back in 2013, aims to further enhance competition, transparency, and robustness of the Philippine Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) which can then lead to more investments in the Philippine power industry.
The transition to a five-minute dispatch and settlement interval from the current one-hour interval would significantly improve the demand forecast and eliminate generation imbalances that could happen in a one-hour trading interval. This would make the grid more secure through the reduced system imbalance while, at the same time, generator trading participants would be able to easily comply with their target schedule.
On the other hand, customer trading participants (e.g. distribution utilities, bulk users, and retail electricity suppliers) would now have a more refined period for their bilateral contracts, thus enabling them to have a more robust option on having their electricity supplied either through their bilateral contracts or through the electricity spot market.
Overall, the efficiencies gained from this transition are expected to eventually benefit the ordinary Filipino through more competitive electricity prices for the distribution utilities and also those who are already participating as Contestable Customers (CCs) under the Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA).
Another major milestone for the EWDO is the integration of the Mindanao grid into the WESM. After being launched in 2017, the Mindanao WESM would also finally Go-Live under the EWDO.
On midnight June 25, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), the Market Operator of WESM, together with the System Operator (NGCP) and all the generating plants and distribution utilities, would switch the WESM from one-hour trading to a five-minute trading interval. This technological milestone has only been achieved by advanced electricity markets. With the EWDO, WESM, under the operations of IEMOP, would be one of the technologically advanced electricity market operations.
