Power spot market prices drop in January

Cool weather leads to lower demand

MANILA, Philippines — Electricity rates in the country’s Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) dropped in January, thanks to the cooler weather that led to lower demand.

Data from the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) showed that system-wide WESM rates were down by 14.3 percent to P2.96 per kilowatt-hour from P3.45 per kWh on a monthly basis.

IEMOP corporate planning and communications manager Arjon Valencia attributed the lower rate to the “increase in the average system margin.”

For the billing period covering Dec. 26, 2024 to Jan. 25, 2025, overall supply dipped by 0.2 percent to 20,110 megawatts from 20,150 MW, while demand plunged by 5.6 percent to 12,529 MW from 13,275 MW.

This resulted in a system margin, or the difference between the available supply and the actual demand, of 7,581 MW – 10.26 percent higher than December’s 6,875 MW.

Operated by IEMOP, WESM is the centralized venue for buying and selling electricity as a commodity where prices are determined by supply and demand.

WESM rates in all the three major island groups declined, with Luzon going down by 8.5 percent to P2.98 per kWh, Visayas by 19.1 percent to P3.13 per kWh and Mindanao by 31.9 percent to P2.65 per kWh.

By region, Luzon’s supply was lower by 1.6 percent to 13,962 MW from 14,193 MW, while its demand decreased by 6.4 percent to 8,741 MW from 9,344 MW.

In the Visayas grid, supply dipped by 4.5 percent to 2,372 MW from 2,485 MW, while demand inched down by 4.4 percent to 1,856 MW from 1,942 MW.

As for Mindanao, supply increased by 8.7 percent to 3,775 MW from 3,473 MW, while demand edged 2.9 percent lower to 1,931 MW from 1,989 MW.

“Coal remains the dominant energy source, though its share decreased from 58.87 percent in December 2024 to 55 percent in January 2025,” Valencia said.

Share from natural gas, meanwhile, rose to 17 percent from 15 percent, he said.

Among renewable sources, hydro generation saw a slight rebound, rising to 956 gigawatt-hours in January from the previous month’s 905 GWh.

“Wind and solar energy showed minimal changes, with wind generation slightly decreasing and solar generation slightly increasing in January 2025,” Valencia noted, although he did not provide further details.

Contribution from geothermal energy remained stable at eight to nine percent.

Overall, the total energy generation declined by 2.75 percent to 8,991 GWh from 9,245 GWh on a monthly basis.