Once the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) opens in the Visayas, Kepco-SPC Power Corporation (KSPC) will have a venue to sell the un-contracted output of its 200-megawatt Cebu coal fired power facility which is due for full commercial operations next year.

In an exclusive interview, KSPC general manager Bag Woon Choi noted that more than 90 percent of the facility’s generated capacity has already been contracted with off-takers via power sales contracts, but the remaining 8.0-percent may eventually be channeled through the spot market.

“92 percent of KSPC’s Cebu power plant capacity has been fully committed to our electric customers and 8.0 percent of its capacity is allocated for the WESM trading,” he emphasized. KSPC is a joint venture of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and publicly-listed SPC Power Corp (formerly Salcon Power).

The power plant’s output has been contracted to seven electric cooperatives in various parts of Visayas; one distribution utility and a wholesale power aggregator iN2 Power Inc.

Choi opined that an earlier operation of the WESM in Visayas will be favorable to power generators which have responded to the government’s call for investments to plug lingering supply shortfalls in the area.

“WESM is envisioned to provide a level playing field where we can attain competition and reflect the true price of electricity,” he enthused.

Nevertheless, he acknowledged that at ‘tight supply condition’, prices may temporarily suffer spikes “but will settle and find its true value in the long run.”

Market operator Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC) had been unsuccessful in its bid at setting into commercial operation the WESM-Visayas this month because of opposition from electric cooperatives in the area. A new timeframe was propounded by mid next year or at the time when there’s already enough supply addition from the expanded generation facilities.

KSPC further noted that WESM in the Visayas “is paramount to the establishment of a competitive and efficient electricity market that will ensure supply of power to meet the growing demand in the region.”