Hearing on Market Fees for WESM set by ERC
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) held an initial hearing on February 1, 2006 on the application of the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC) for the approval of the structure and level of market fees that will be imposed on the members or transactions in the Philippine Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
The market fees being proposed by PEMC are pursuant to Section 30 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) as implemented in clause 2.10.1 of the WESM Rules. Section 30 of the EPIRA states that “the cost of administering and operating the WESM shall be recovered by the market operator through a charge imposed to all market members; Provided, that such charge shall be filed with and approved by the ERC.
Clause 2.10.4 sets several components of the market fees including but not limited to: (a) registration fees; (b) metering fees; (c) billing and settlement fees; (d) administration fees; and (e) costs reasonably incurred by the PEM Board and its committees and working groups.
The PEMC proposed to categorize the fees into Market Registration Fees (MRF) and Market Transaction Fees (MTF) to better reflect the various services provided in the WESM. The MRF will defray the registration of WESM members and will be assessed annually. The cost components of the MRF include: access or digital certificate, installation and configuration of the digital certificate, orientation and training, help desk facility and publications. The MTF, on the other hand, will cover the expenses of the PEMC in operating and governing the electricity spot market. Its cost components are proposed to include: market operations, billing and settlements, administration and corporate services, PEM board and committees expenses, MMS cost recovery and pre-operating loan cost recovery.
“The ERC assures all stakeholders that the application of PEMC for the approval of its proposed level and structure of market fees will be carefully evaluated. The ERC will ensure that the proposal conforms to clause 2.10.3 of the WESM Rules which prescribes that, to the extent practicable, the structure of the market fees is transparent, considers the budgeted revenue requirements of the Market Operator and the PEM Board, and will not favor or discriminate against any category of WESM members,” ERC Chairman Rodolfo B. Albano, Jr. said.
“Rest assure that the ERC will remain standing in the middle, balancing the interests of all stakeholders of the electric power industry,” the ERC chief added.
February 10, 2006