The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has ordered the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC) to resume the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market’s (WESM) operation in Bohol.
ERC handed the order to PEMC, WESM’s governing body, on Thursday following Bohol’s reconnection to the Visayas Grid the day prior through the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ (NGCP) Emergency Restoration System (ERS).
“The ERC has been closely monitoring the situation in Bohol, and the recent resynchronization is a welcome development. In view of this, we are now lifting the market suspension in Bohol to ensure sustainable power supply and help in the province’s economic recovery after the devastation caused by Typhoon Odette,” ERC Chairperson Agnes Devanadera said in a statement.
“The lifting of market suspension due to the completion of the [Tugas-Ubay] Line will enable the exportation of power to Bohol and will mean a more stable power for the electricity consumers in the area,” Devanadera added.
Last month, trading operations resumed for WESM in the Visayas Grid after its suspension in the wake of Typhoon Odette’s onslaught. However, Bohol was exempted from the operations as it wasn’t connected to the grid at that time.
The two temporary transmission towers serve as the key component of the ERS. The cables placed on the towers bypass the actual path of the 138-kilovolt Tugas-Ubay line, which in turn links to the Leyte-Bohol interconnection. The temporary towers have been set in place while waiting for the two new permanent special towers to be built by April. NGCP’s special towers on mainland Bohol and Lapinig Island were among the major power infrastructures damaged by Odette.