The Philippines remains largely dependent on coal for its electricity requirements, with fossil fuels powering half of the country’s output even during the COVID-19 pandemic, based on data from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

WESM’s operator Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) particularly cited that coal represented 35,732 gigawatt-hours (GWh) or 54% of  66,494 GWh customers consumed from January to October this year. Natural gas was second with 16,236 GWh or 24%.

The IEMOP added that of the 20,873 megawatts (MW) registered at the WESM, coal accounted for 9,042 MW or 43%. Natural gas came at far second again with 3,295 MW or 16%.

As for peak daily demand, spot market records show that this has been receding since reaching a pandemic-period high of 10,193 MW in September. Peak demand was pegged at 9,776 MW and 8,947 MW in October and November, respectively.