DOE: Commercial operation of reserve market to stabilize grid

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced on Friday the reserve market is now in full commercial operation and could help in ensuring system stability.

In a statement, the DOE said all power generation companies can now offer and sell ancillary services to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), the country’s system operator and sole buyer of reserves, even without ancillary service procurement agreement.

“This will bring efficient dispatch of all available capacities by co-optimizing the capacity and price offers of energy and reserve to ensure that the required levels for both services are always met,” DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.

Ancillary services serve as power reserves when power plants go on outages to prevent brownouts.

Before the full commercial operation of the reserve market, the NGCP needs to secure ancillary service contracts in preparation for the dry months when power demand is higher.

Among the ancillary services that needed to be secured are the regulating reserve, which is equal to 4 percent of the peak demand; a contingency reserve, which is equal to 4 percent of the peak demand plus the capacity of the biggest power plant in the system; and a dispatchable reserve requirement, which is equal to 4 percent of the peak demand plus the capacity of the second largest plant in the system.

“With today’s commercial operation of the reserve market, the available reserves are sufficient to ensure the system stability of the grid,” Lotilla said at the ceremonial energization of the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project at the Malacañan Palace Friday.

The reserve market is integrated into the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.

Lotilla said all energy stakeholders will closely monitor the operations of the energy and reserves market to ensure a competitive environment in this sector. (PNA)