President Marcos said that the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has temporarily suspended the operation of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) under the declaration of red alert of the systems operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to tame the increase of electricity rates amid the ongoing El Niño phenomenon.

Marcos said this a day after he said that the government was already exploring measures to prevent the price of electricity from surging amid the high demand for electricity during the extreme heat.

In a speech in Malacañan on Wednesday, May 1, the President said the ERC's move aims to stop electricity rates from increasing as he recognized that prices indeed go up due to the ongoing El Niño.

"Kahapon lamang ay kumilos na ang [ERC] upang pansamantalang isuspende ang operasyon ng tinatawag na [WESM] kapag may idineklarang Red Alert ang System Operator o NGCP (Yesterday, the ERC temporarily suspended the operation of the WESM during declarations of Red Alert by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines)," he said.

"Ito ay naglalayon na pigilan ang pagtaas ng presyo ng kuryente sa gitna ng kalamidad na dulot ng (This aims to stop electricity rates from increasing amid the effect of the) El Niño," the President added.

Created under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001, the WESM serves as a venue for trading electricity as a commodity. It is where the power generators sell their excess capacities not covered by contracts and where the customers buy additional capacities on top of their contracts.

In an interview in Cotabato last Monday, Marcos assured the public that the government will carry out plans and strategies to tame power prices amid the current high demand for electricity.

Marcos rejected suggestions that there was an artificial power crisis in the Philippines and pointed out that the power system was experiencing an overload due to the dry spell.

He said the government is continuously monitoring the situation because of the surge in demand.

As one way of addressing the situation, the President urged the NGCP to build the transmission lines it promised to boost much-needed electricity, especially in areas not connected to the grid.