IEMOP marks 7 years, boosts renewable energy market

The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) celebrated its seventh anniversary on Sept. 26, 2025, emphasizing its expanding role in advancing the country’s renewable energy transition.

Since assuming control of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in 2018, IEMOP has worked to enhance market competition, transparency, and accessibility within the Philippine power sector.

In the past year, the organization accelerated its focus on integrating renewable energy sources and broadening participation in the retail electricity market.

A major development has been IEMOP’s role as the Renewable Energy Registrar for the Department of Energy’s Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) platform, launched in December 2024.

This platform allows power producers and suppliers to trade RECs to comply with the Renewable Portfolio Standards, promoting the use of clean energy across the grid.

Since the REC platform’s rollout, IEMOP has issued more than 52.7 million certificates, with 25.13% retired to meet compliance obligations for 2020–2022.

“The lower prices in the market is the result of improved efficiency in the entire industry value chain,” said Atty. Richard J. Nethercott, IEMOP president and CEO.

“It is a product of the collaborative efforts of all sectors, public and private,” Nethercott added.

These efficiencies were reflected in spot market prices, which averaged PHP 4.14 per kilowatt hour in the first half of 2025—a 26% decrease from 2024—marking the lowest average in five years.

The price decline was attributed to improved supply conditions, the entry of more renewable generation capacity, and easing of grid congestion.

In February 2025, IEMOP launched the Retail Aggregation Program (RAP), a key initiative that allows smaller electricity consumers and communities to join the competitive retail electricity market.

Since its launch, the retail market has averaged 2.14 terawatt hours in monthly consumption, with RAP contributing 13,079 megawatt hours and a peak demand of 30.66 megawatts.

These achievements were highlighted during the third Philippine Electric Power Industry Forum (PEPIF) 2025, which IEMOP co-hosted with the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Held in Cagayan de Oro City in April, the event carried the theme, “Accelerating Philippine Renewable Energy Transition through Innovation and Collaboration.”

“Let us embrace the spirit of collaboration and innovation as we work together to accelerate the Philippine renewable energy transition — but we should not forget to collaborate also with our consumers, the electricity end users,” said Cong. Sergio C. Dagooc of the APEC Party List.

“After all, the industry does not exist for itself but for those who consume electricity,” Dagooc added.

Internationally, IEMOP promoted the Philippines’ clean energy progress at Renewable Energy Markets Asia 2025 in Singapore, sharing its experience with REC trading and exploring opportunities for regional cooperation.