IEMOP: average electricity price drops by 14.3% due to lower system demand

The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) says that the average electricity price in January 2025 dropped to Php 2.96 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), marking a 14.3% decline from December 2024, the lowest since January 2023. 

This decrease was brought upon by higher supply margins and lower system demand amid cooler temperatures.

Data from IEMOP showed that while system-wide supply slightly decreased by 0.2% to 20,110 megawatts (MW), demand fell by 5.6% to 12,529 MW. This created a wider system margin of 7,581 MW, 10.26% higher than the previous period.

In Luzon, average supply fell by 1.6% to 13,962 MW, while demand dropped by 6.4% to 8,741 MW, resulting in a 7.67% rise in the margin to 5,221 MW. Consequently, the average price in Luzon decreased by 8.5% to PHP 2.98 per kWh.

Meanwhile, Visayas recorded a 4.5% decline in supply to 2,372 MW and a 4.4% drop in demand to 1,856 MW, driving the price down by 19.1% to Php 3.13 per kWh.

In Mindanao, despite an 8.7% increase in supply to 3,775 MW, demand dipped by 2.9% to 1,931 MW. This led to a substantial 31.9% drop in the regional average price to Php 2.65 per kWh.

IEMOP noted that coal remained the dominant energy source at 55.0%, despite a decline from December’s 58.87%. Natural gas usage, meanwhile, increased from 15% to 17%, while hydro power rebounded slightly to 956 GWh. Total energy generation declined by 2.75% to 8,991 GWh.

Meanwhile, trading under the Renewable Energy Market (REM) has commenced, with 46,634 Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) worth Php 9.68 million traded since December 26, 2024. The Retail Aggregation Program (RAP) also marked its first customer switch on February 7, 2025.

IEMOP President and CEO Atty. Richard J. Nethercott acknowledged this development, saying, “IEMOP commends the retail aggregator PrimeRES Energy Corporation and the aggregated end-users under the Manila Water Company, Inc., for their participation and confidence in RAP.”

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