VisMin Consumers Brace for Higher Power Rates in September

MANILA, Philippines — Consumers in the Visayas and Mindanao regions of the Philippines are bracing for a significant spike in their electricity bills this September, as the spot market reported a surge in power prices. The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) stated that power traded on the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in Visayas surged by 64.9 percent to P18.59 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Mindanao recorded even higher rates, reaching P19.56 per kWh, an 88 percent increase from the previous month's P10.39 per kWh. The sharp rises in WESM prices on the two main islands were attributed to outages at major coal plants. This forced the market to rely on more expensive energy sources, contributing to the price hike. The Visayas has been under numerous yellow and red alerts for months due to tight electricity supply, while Mindanao has also faced a power crunch from the forced shutdown of some of its coal facilities. Luzon, meanwhile, saw its WESM prices drop by 34.2 percent to P4.80 per kWh. The systemwide WESM electricity rates increased to P9.29 per kWh, up from P8.31 per kWh in the previous period. The billing period in question runs from July 26 to August 25, meaning consumers will see these increased rates reflected on their September bills. IEMOP manages the WESM, a platform where power producers and distributors actively trade electricity to support supply.