Cusi orders creation of body to manage PEMC, WESM

MANILA, Philippines - Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi has ordered the creation of a transition committee for the interim management of the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

Under the department order, the transition committee is tasked to assess PEMC’s existing structure, system and resources and propose a way forward for WESM to meet the challenges ahead.

The committee has seven months from Aug. 1, 2017 to complete the transition.

The committee will be chaired by Oscar Ala to exercise the functions of the PEMC president until one is appointed by the PEMC board.

Cusi said the creation of the transition committee is in line with President Duterte’s thrust of ensuring the protection of electricity consumers.

He said PEMC would continue to effectively govern the operations of WESM for the benefit of all electricity stakeholders.

Meanwhile, a new Philippine Electricity Market Board has been formed, with Cusi as chairman.

On the organizational level, the Energy chief assured PEMC employees the PEMC leadership shall continue to improve and advance their welfare as WESM operations continue to evolve.

PEMC was incorporated in 2003 and was constituted as the autonomous group market operator to oversee market governance and perform the functions of the market operator in the WESM, which was created under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001, the power reform law.

But under EPIRA, the WESM must be transferred to an independent market operator or IMO one year after its establishment.

In December 2016, the DOE launched an overall independent audit on the PEMC, operator of the electricity spot market, to ensure competitive power prices and safeguard consumers.