THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has ordered the partial lifting of the suspension on settlement amounts in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM)’s Reserve Market to allow power generators  partial recovery of costs for trading transactions for the March billing month of this year.

In the Order issued for ERC Case No. 2023-002 RC, promulgated “In the Matter of the Application for the Issuance of Rules on the Price Determination Methodology for the Implementation of the Co-Optimized Energy and Reserve Market in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC) and the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines, Inc. (IEMOP)”, the Commission resolved to allow settlement of 30% of the amounts for payment for trading transactions made in the Reserve Market for the March 2024 billing month. 

The decision was made in an effort to ensure continuous operations of power generators providing reserves in the system following the suspension order issued on 25 March 2024. 

The ERC said they need to strike a balance in performing its mandate to ensure the reliability and security of the power system through the continuous operations of the generators and protecting the consuming public.