The average price of electricity sold on the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) nationwide in February dropped 7.8 percent from the preceding month, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) said on Wednesday.
IEMOP reported the average price per kilowatt hour (kWh) as of February 25 reached P2.73, compared with P2.96 per kWh for the full month of January.
Available supply outweighed demand, IEMOP Corporate Planning and Communications Manager Arjon Valencia said.
The total average supply grew 2 percent to 20,512 MW from 20,110 MW; demand rose 3 percent to 12,904 MW from 12,529 MW.
As of February 25, the average price in Luzon stood at P2.71 per kWh, a 9.1 percent fall from January’s P2.98 per kWh.
Average demand in Luzon increased 3.8 percent to 9,071 MW from the previous month’s 8,741 MW, while average supply also improved by 3.7 percent to 14,475 MW from 13,962 MW.
For the same period in the Visayas, the average WESM price reached P2.81, or 10.2 percent lower than January’s P3.13 per kWh.
IEMOP recorded 1 percent growth in demand at 1,876 MW from 1,856 MW and a 1.1 percent hike in supply at 2,397 MW from 2,372 MW.
Valencia said, however, the scenario in the Mindanao grid was different.
Valencia said the average supply availability in the Mindanao grid declined by 3.6 percent to 3,640 MW from 3,775 MW.
Coal remained the primary energy source for electricity sold in the WESM, contributing 55.8 percent of total generation, and natural gas adding 17 percent, Valencia said.
For renewable sources, hydro generation made up 9.6 percent of total generation, followed by geothermal, at 8.7 percent.
The billing period from the WESM ends every 25th day of the month.
Valencia said that at this point, they still could not say if the trajectory of WESM prices was upward despite seeing increases in power demand over the past days due to higher temperatures.
“While we are and will still be observing daily trends in the coming days, from February 26 to March 3, energy prices increased as demand rose, and supply dropped compared to the February 2025 billing period,” Valencia said.
“The higher demand was driven by warmer temperatures experienced lately, leading to increased use of cooling systems,” Valencia said.
