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A roundtable discussion on Electricity Pricing through Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) sponsored by the National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL),  was held on October 9, 2015 at Hotel Jen Manila.

The RTD was attended by over eighty (80) representatives from different stakeholders in the electricity sector. Resource persons were Engr. Julius Eleazar A. Bunyi, Engr. Clares Loren C. Jalocon, and Engr. Jonathan B. Dela Viña, all from the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC) and Mr. Emmanuel Y. Go, Chairman of Energy Committee, Federation of Philippine Industries.

The main points of the discussion were (a) the fundamental concepts of electricity trading and pricing mechanisms of WESM; (b) how variable renewable energy resourcesare scheduled for dispatch purposes and their correlative responsibilities in maintaining system security and reliability; and (c) the financial impact of the integration of Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) qualified resources in the WESM to the end-users.

During the open forum, the participants raised concerns about RA 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), transparency of actual electricity billing, and on transmission congestions, among all others.  Mr. Emmanuel Y. Go gave reactions representing industry concerns, He noted that the EPIRA and the Retail Competition Open Access (RCOA) are exciting developments in grid electricity but these reforms are still in their infancy and are confronted with problems such as higher generation costs.

Dr. Allan N. Soriano, professor at Mapúa Institute of Technology, synthesized the discussions. Ms. Melinda L. Ocampo, President of Philippine Electricity Market Corporation, gave the closing remarks.

The activity was organized by the Engineering Sciences and Technology Division (ESTD) of NAST PHL with the RTD focal person, Acd. Alvin B. Culaba, in partnership with the PEMC.