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By Euan Paulo C. Ańonuevo, Reporter
THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has
allowed the operator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM)
to collect less than half a billion pesos from trading
participants for its budget this year.
In a decision, the ERC said that it has allowed
Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) to levy a total of
P489.32 million in market transaction fees on power generators
registered with the WESM to cover the market operator’s budgetary
requirement for 2008.
The amount is broken down into P461.24 million
for PEMC’s Luzon operations and P28.10 million for its upcoming
Visayas operations.
Bulk of PEMC’s approved budget for Luzon has
been allocated for maintenance and other operating expenses at
P267.11 million, half of which will be used to service a P500
million loan from the National Transmission Corp. (TransCo).
PEMC’s other budgetary requirements for Luzon
include costs for personnel services at P156.53 million; capital
expenditure, P28 million; and provisions for ERC and Department of
Energy monitoring, P9.60 million.
The regulator said the amount of market
transaction fees shall be apportioned among generators according to
the volume traded by each of them.
PEMC, which is a nonprofit, nonstock corporation
running the WESM, is required under the Electric Power Industry
Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA) to seek approval from the regulator for
its budget needs.
When the WESM started commercial operations in
Luzon in 2006, PEMC was allowed a budget of P433.62 million. The
regulator however has yet to approve the market operator’s
proposed P624.45-million budget for 2007, the proceeds of which will
applied for its 2008 requirements.
In line with this, the ERC allowed PEMC the
option to file “a supplemental application” for its 2008 budget
requirements “as it may deem necessary.”
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