Electricity price drops 15.3% in April

THE average electricity market price in the country in April dropped by 15.3 percent at P4.52 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), compared to P5.34 per kWh in March, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines Inc. (IEMOP) reported, citing an increase in power supply due to the coming midterm elections.

"The main reason is the elections... there are less scheduled outages of power plants. As a result, the supply margin increases compared to last month despite the increase in demand," IEMOP Corporate Planning and Communications Manager Arjon Valencia told media.

For April, average supply was up 8.8 percent at 21,345 megawatts (MW) from 19,611 MW in March due to more power plants being online.

Average electricity demand also increased by 7.8 percent to 14,379 MW from 13,670 MW in March due to the onset of the dry season and high heat indices.

In Luzon, average electricity price declined by 16.5 percent to P4.59 per kWh from P5.50 per kWh in March. Its average supply was higher at 15,000 MW from 13,530 MW, while average demand at 10,613 MW was also more than March's 9,713 MW.

In the Visayas, average electricity price was the same as the country's at P4.52 per kWh, down 17.6 percent from the 5.48 per kWh in March. Average supply was 2,563 MW, up from 2,365 MW; while demand was 2,009 MW, also higher than March's 1,913 MW.

Mindanao saw similar trends as its electricity price decreased by 6.3 percent at P4.11 per kWh from P4.39 per kWh. Its supply was 3,782 MW, up from 3,716 MW; and demand was 2,118 MW, more than March's 2,044 MW.