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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Trade & Industry devider Luzon power prices surge on grid congestion, seasonal demand

Luzon power prices surge on grid congestion, seasonal demand

Published Apr 8, 2026 04:11 pm

Power rates in Luzon may see an increase this month, as its average spot market price posted the highest jump among the three regions due to the power supply-demand imbalance experienced in March.

In a media briefing on Wednesday, April 8, Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) corporate planning and communication manager Arjon Valencia said Luzon’s price in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) grew 52.5 percent from ₱2.69 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to ₱4.10/kWh.

Luzon’s supply dropped to 14,103 megawatts (MW) from 14,286 MW, while its demand increased from 9,016 MW to 9,444 MW.

While Visayas and Mindanao WESM prices tempered, overall system average price grew 23 percent to ₱4.31/kWh. This is aligned with earlier predictions that WESM prices could rise to this level.

Visayas and Mindanao’s demand for electricity likewise grew to 1,885 MW and 2,054 MW, respectively. Despite this, their spot market prices fell, with Visayas at ₱5.08/kWh and Mindanao at ₱4.43/kWh.

Despite the effects of geopolitical tensions on oil prices, especially on liquefied natural gas (LNG), Isidro Cacho Jr., IEMOP’s vice president for trading operations, explained that these were most likely caused by seasonal demand, as the summer season significantly increased power consumption due to wider use of cooling systems.

Grid congestion also affected Luzon’s prices, especially as there was a major 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission line maintenance, which, in turn, restricted flow of power to certain areas. Furthermore, expensive power plants were used to meet the increasing power demand.

Cacho noted a silver lining, saying that despite the price increase, average market price would have been higher at ₱7.54/kWh. However, because of the implementation of the modified administered price (AP), it was able to mitigate the actual price. AP is a pricing mechanism of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) during the market suspension period as a measure to mitigate electricity price spikes and shield consumers from these shocks.

According to the ERC, the specific pricing for coal is fixed at ₱6,000 per megawatt-hour (MWh), renewable energy (RE) will be paid through administered prices based on the four-week average before the suspension period, while gas, oil, and storage will be settled under existing administered schemes.

Related Tags

IEMOP WESM Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP)
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