The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has ordered the resumption of trading in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in the Visayas a month after its suspension due to the widespread damage Typhoon Odette brought to the region.
In a statement on Wednesday, the ERC said it lifted the suspension on Monday following its assessment with the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC) and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP). PEMC is WESM’s governing body.
However, the WESM resumption does not include Bohol, as it remains disconnected from the Visayas Grid. Odette toppled NGCP’s two special transmission towers in the province – a vital link to the Leyte-Bohol interconnection where 60% of Bohol’s power flows through.
At a press briefing on Tuesday, NCGP said that the Colon-Calongcalong 138-kilovolt (kV) Line 2 and the Colon-Cebu 138kV Line 3, both in Cebu, have been energized. The ERC said that the energization of the two transmission lines signaled the readiness to resume market operations in the area.