The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) is preparing for the launch of the renewable energy (RE) market, aiming to start commercial operations by next month.
In a briefing on Thursday, Nov. 7, Arjon Valencia, IEMOP corporate planning and communications manager, explained that they expect the RE market to debut by December, with electric cooperatives (ECs), distribution utilities (DUs), and retail suppliers, among other stakeholders in the Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao grids, participating.
“Right now, we’re preparing for the RE market’s full commercial operations, targeted hopefully by December 2024, and one of the sources of RE certificates for these DUs is through net metering,” he elaborated.
Valencia stated that participants must submit metered quantities into the system and would be bound by a market participation agreement. This data is vital as it helps them acquire RE certificates when utilizing renewables.
“At the moment, there are about 17,000 net metering facilities across the Philippine system. However, some DUs haven’t submitted any net metering data to obtain or to get the RE certificates for their accounts,” he said.
IEMOP further explained that mandated participants would source a certain percentage of their electricity sales from renewables—whether solar, wind, or hydro—using the RE certificate as a measuring instrument.
“One megawatt-hour (MWh) of RE generation is represented by one RE certificate. The price cap set by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is P241 per certificate.”
IEMOP also said the market would help facilitate the country’s goal to increase its clean energy share in the power generation mix to 35 percent by 2030.
“Mandated participants can source from the RE market if their power supply agreements are not enough to meet that percentage… Right now, their sales should have an 11 percent share of RE,” Valencia said.
According to IEMOP, the Department of Energy (DOE) will announce a circular detailing the full commercial operations of the RE market.