WESM for Mindanao pushed

DAVAO CITY — Businesses in Mindanao want the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) to start on the island by 2014, as part of efforts to develop a competitive power industry. This was a key point raised by business leaders who participated in a power industry summit in Cagayan de Oro early this month in the face of a looming power shortage on the island, the Mindanao Business Council said in a statement on Wednesday. The WESM, which now covers only Luzon and will extend to the Visayas only within the next two years, is designed to ensure that electricity is supplied at the most cost-effective manner by making sure that the price of electricity bought through its facility is market-based. The chamber said the extension of the WESM coverage to Mindanao will help develop a competitive power industry on the island which, in turn, will draw more investors into this field. But Mindanao is expected to start experiencing a power shortage next year, as peak demand hits 1,594 megawatts (MW) against a 1,510-MW capacity, resulting in a 84-MW deficit. Energy Undersecretary Zamzamin L. Ampatuan said there is now "a tight situation," but noted that new power sources that should be on line in two years, including the 42.5-MW hydroelectric power plant of Hedcor Inc. in Sibulan, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur and the 200-MW power plant of Conal Holdings Corp. in Alabel, Saragani. Mylene C. Capongcol, director of the Electric Power Industry Management Bureau, said in an interview in Manila that while "our goal really is to establish the WESM in Mindanao…Mindanao is not yet interconnected." "It’s really hard to say when the WESM Mindanao will be put up. Right now, we need a better transmission backbone [to better link the northern and southern regions of the island] as well as new plants to have a comfortable level of supply…so, there’s really a lot that needs to be done." — Carmelito Q. Francisco, BusinessWorld