LABAN Konsyumer Inc. (LKI) has elevated to the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) the cases of 147 alleged power spot market breaches recorded last year after the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) formally wrapped up its investigation on the cases.
Vic Dimagiba, LKI president, PCC probe is needed as from the 147 cases and 61,227 intervals, 4,865 intervals were found to be in breach of market rules.
Dimagiba said PEMC did not issue a Notice of Anti-Competitive Behavior on the 147 investigation cases that were concluded in 2019 saying they “pertain only to the breach of the WESM (wholesale electricity spot market) rules.”
But Dimagiba said breach of WESM rules is enough reason to determine whether or not anti-competitive behavior was committed.
“PEMC pointed to ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) to give or direct PEMC express or implied consent to investigate, in case there is any indication of a price manipulation or anti-competitive behavior… Of the 147 cases and 61,227 intervals, 4,865 intervals were found to be in breach of the market rules. This is reason enough for the investigation to be continued so as to ensure the proper analysis of the findings is done, and a proper resolution is given to the issue,” Dimagiba said.
When sought for comment, ERC spokesperson Floresinda Digal said the agency is not aware of the breaches being referred by LKI.
Meanwhile, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) said for the first 30 days of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) or from February 26 to April 15, decreases were recorded for supply, demand and prices in WESM.
IEMOP said average available supply during the ECQ period (March 16 to April 15) stood at 13,911 megawatts (MW) compared to the 14,378 MW before the ECQ (February 26 to March 15) or a drop of 3 percent or 467 MW.
Average demand during the ECQ stood at 9,541 MW compared to the 11,891 MW before the ECQ, a decrease of almost 20 percent or 2,350 MW.
Spot market prices also recorded a steep fall during the ECQ to an average of P1,403 per megawatt hour (MWh) from average pre-ECQ levels of P3,098 per MWh, down by almost 55 percent or by P1,695 per MWh.
