The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) began on Monday its trial operations program (TOP) for the country’s awaited reserve market.
The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that the TOP for the reserve market will be conducted as a non-binding exercise. The primary objective of this program is to thoroughly test and validate all market systems related to registration, scheduling, metering, dispatch and pricing, settlement, and cost recovery.
The commercial operations of the reserve market are subject to certain conditions, including the approval of the price determination methodology by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). Additionally, the successful completion of TOP by the market operator, system operator, and WESM participants is also required.
In anticipation of the ERC ultimately approving the price determination technique, the DOE assigned IEMOP the role of the market operator and instructed that it begin the TOP by June 26.
IEMOP stated that beginning on June 26, all generation businesses recognized as auxiliary service (AS) providers are required to register in the WESM, given a deadline of July 14, 2023.
Also stated is that participation in the reserve market TOP is expected from registered AS providers holding active AS certifications.
Those holding current AS capability certificates that were granted by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) are considered accredited AS providers.
The reserve market involves the auctioning of power reserve generation capacities, enabling the allocation and trading of these capacities among market participants.
Its implementation is anticipated to encourage increased investments in supplementary capacity and battery storage to fulfill the demands of the power grid.