November 7, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Power prices in the country’s Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) spiked sharply last month after a series of earthquakes and typhoons triggered multiple plant outages.
System-wide WESM rates soared by 49.4 percent to P4.54 per kilowatt-hour in October from P3.04 per kWh in September, according to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP).
The increase for the October billing period will be reflected in generation charges of consumers this month.
“There were major plant outages affecting the October billing period, contributing to the overall price increase,” IEMOP market simulation and analysis staff Christian Karla Rica told a press briefing yesterday.
Rica specifically pointed to the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that jolted Cebu and resulted in several tripping incidents involving generators and power transmission lines.
As a result, overall supply was down by four percent to 19,889 megawatts from 20,712 MW, while demand rose by 1.8 percent to 13,881 MW from 13,640 MW.
“When supply decreases, there will be an increase (in prices). When there are typhoons, the baseload plants are affected. Because of these outages and force majeure events, transmission is also affected,” IEMOP vice president for trading operations Isidro Cacho Jr. said.
Operated by IEMOP, WESM serves as a centralized platform for electricity trading where prices are determined by supply and demand.
In October, WESM rates in the country’s major island groups all went up, with Luzon prices going up by 54.3 percent to P3.96 per kWh, Visayas by 45.3 percent to P5.85 per kWh and Mindanao by 40 percent to P5.87 per kWh.
Luzon’s supply dropped by 6.1 percent to 13,790 MW from 14,681 MW, while demand inched up by 1.9 percent to 9,777 MW from 9,595 MW.
Likewise, supply in the Visayas edged 0.8 percent lower to 2,421 MW from 2,440 MW, while demand dipped by one percent to 1,944 MW from 1,945 MW.
As for Mindanao, the region’s supply went higher by 2.4 percent to 3,678 MW from 3,592 MW, while demand grew by 2.9 percent to 2,161 MW from 2,100 MW.
Barring any major unplanned plant outages, Cacho expects WESM prices for the rest of the year to decline due to projected low demand caused by cooler temperatures.
