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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Trade & Industry devider ERC raises spot market power price cap to support gencos

ERC raises spot market power price cap to support gencos

Published Dec 17, 2025 02:25 pm
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The Philippine Energy Regulatory Commission raised the secondary price cap in the wholesale electricity spot market by 19 percent, a move designed to help power producers recover costs during periods of high demand.
In a statement on Wednesday, Dec. 17, the ERC said the regulator approved revisions increasing the price ceiling to ₱7.445 per kilowatt-hour from ₱6.245 per kilowatt-hour. On a megawatt-hour basis, the ERC said the new cap is set at ₱7,445.
The mechanism is triggered to prevent runaway prices once a specific cumulative threshold is breached.
ERC Chairperson Francis Saturnino Juan said the adjustment ensures the market remains responsive to current dynamics, especially when more expensive plants are called upon to stabilize the grid.
The cap is applied when the three-day rolling average price exceeds ₱9 per kilowatt-hour or in the event of major interconnection outages.
Under the updated framework, only oil-based and liquefied natural gas plants are eligible to seek additional compensation if their verified fuel and maintenance costs exceed the cap.
Other generation technologies were excluded because their marginal costs remain significantly lower, the commission said.
The policy shift comes as the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines reported a decline in average spot prices to ₱3.88 per kilowatt-hour from ₱4.54 per kilowatt-hour.
The dip was driven by a rise in average supply to 19,998 megawatts and a slight easing of demand to 13,507 megawatts during the latest tracking period.
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