Wednesday, February 28, 2007 Energy body completes probe on power cost manipulation
THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) will release on Wednesday the results of its investigation on the power price manipulation in the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) in September last year.
"I'm expecting the full and final report by February 28," said ERC chairman Rodolfo Albaņo.
Albaņo said an ERC team tasked to review the evidence and findings of the inquiry conducted by the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC), which found the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (Psalm) guilty of manipulating the trading price during the month of September in 2006 is already completing its report.
He also said he will review the report and findings once he gets them.
Meanwhile, the ERC has set for public hearing the PEMC's proposed Pricing and Cost Recovery Mechanism for Reserves (Reserve PCRM) in the country's spot market.
Albaņo said the ERC has scheduled the expository presentation and pre-trial conference on Feb. 26, 2007 and the evidentiary hearings on March 6, 12, 13, 19, and 20, 2007.
"The PCRM is a welcome development because this is another step towards sustaining competition, not only in the spot market but also in the entire electric power industry. With the PCRM in place, generators can now also compete in providing ancillary services," he said.
PEMC's proposal supplements the Ancillary Services Cost Recovery Mechanism (AS-CRM) of the National Transmission Corporation (Transco).
The Reserve PCRM will be applicable to all reserves that are to be traded in the WESM and will supersede the AS-CRM of Transco.
The Reserve PCRM application aims to establish the principles by which identified operating reserves will be priced in the WESM and the formula for determining the reserve trading amounts of reserve providers, including the allocation of reserve costs among market players; and the methodology for determining the administered prices and cost recovery charges during market suspension and intervention.
But Albaņo also said Transco AS-CRM will still apply to other ancillary services that are not traded in the WESM as well as to reserve regions or cost recovery zones where the WESM reserve market is not yet operational.
Once approved, the PCRM shall become an integral part of the PDM (Price Determination Methodology).
Albaņio urged electricity stakeholders and the public to participate in the scheduled hearings to aid the ERC in coming up with a decision on the Reserve PCRM of the PEMC. (MSN/Sunnex)
