Power spot prices rise anew in August

Power prices in the country's Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) increased again in August following widespread plant outages that led to a lower supply margin.

- By Brix Lelis

System-wide WESM rates climbed by 15.3 percent to P4.59 per kilowatt-hour in August from the previous month's P3.99 per kWh, according to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines.

Based on IEMOP data, overall supply dipped by 0.7 percent to 20,611 megawatts from 20,754 MW on a monthly basis, while demand rose by 1.7 percent to 14,052 MW from 13,812 MW.

"Coincident forced and planned outages of cheaper plants during the second week of the August billing period led to overall price increases," the market operator said.