The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) reports that electricity spot prices rose at the beginning of April due to a surge in energy demand.

In a report by Business World, IEMOP said that the standard price at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) reached Php 6.90 per kilowatt hour (kWh), a 33% increase in the system.

With demand rising to 14,375 megawatts (MW), the supply also grew by 2.1%, at 19,210 MW.

The three regions also observed an increase in demand, as Luzon saw its average WESM price surge by 31.6%, reaching Php 6.63 per kWh. 

The supply for Luzon also rose to 13,308 MW, marking a 4.5% increase, while its demand mounted to 10,310 MW or 10.1%.

The spot price in the Visayas also rose to Php 8.73 per kWh, a 39.5% rise from the previous month. However, in the first part of April, the supply was merely 2.3% lower at 2,349 MW, versus the 7.4% growth in demand to 2,002 MW. 

Meanwhile in Mindanao, the spot price was at Php 6.43 per kWh, 40.9% higher than the previous month. The region’s demand soared by 6.6% at 2,063 MW, while the supply decreased by 3.5% to 3,553 MW.

The market operator reported that 19.68% of trading intervals in April were regulated by the secondary price cap (SPC), versus the previous month’s 7.04%. 

The market operator explained that SPC would be implemented once the weighted average price of the generator exceeded PHP 9 per kWh.