NGCP puts in place Mindanao Dispatch Protocol

MANILA, Philippines - The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has instituted major developments in Mindanao transmission network to aid in launching the region’s Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

The grid operator said its biggest and most crucial contribution is the development of the Interim Mindanao Dispatch Protocol (IMDP), which was implemented during the transitory period in preparation for the start of Mindanao WESM’s commercial operations.

As part of the IMDP, NGCP developed a website for generators and load customers to submit their available supply and forecasted demand.

After collating the submitted data, the website enables NGCP to publish the demand profiles and generation-to-maintain matrix, a summary of the daily capacity allocation per hour for each individual, for the reference and use of players in the Mindanao electricity market.

The website also allows NGCP to monitor the actual load per customer in real time, which provides a better understanding of how to manage the balance of supply and demand in order to ensure reliable delivery of power transmission services in the area.

NGCP also handled the installation of metering software and hardware to the market participants. At present, NGCP and the Philippine Electricity Market Corp., the operator of WESM, continue to closely coordinate and share data to ensure the smooth implementation of the new system.

“From its inception to its launch, we are very proud to be a part of this major development in Mindanao power operations. In line with our mandate to provide the best transmission services, we are always eager to support initiatives which will improve the grid’s power situation,” NGCP said.

In recent years, Mindanao had rotating brownouts due to generation deficiency. However, the entry of large generators significantly increased supply, now creating a surplus and prompting the extension of WESM operations to Mindanao.

PEMC started the trial operations of the WESM in Mindanao last June 26, which will serve as a transition period for energy stakeholders.      

Prior to the launch of WESM Mindanao, PEMC held a kick-off meeting last May 25 to discuss the market systems to be deployed and on-site installation of user access interfaces was also undertaken. It also lined up several capacity-building activities parallel to the trial operations program.