Compliance was the main talking point when the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC), the governance arm of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), recently held the WESM Compliance Officers Conferment and Annual Compliance Awards (WCACA) event at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club.
The WCACA is PEMC’s culminating event to honor the trading participants’ exemplary performance in market compliance from all over the country. In the previous years, the compliance awards were a part of the WCO Summit’s whole day program.
However, to coincide with the celebration of PEMC’s 20th Anniversary in November, management decided it was time that Market Compliance be celebrated and recognized in a separate but intimate event.
Over a hundred WESM Compliance Officers (WCOs) and WESM Enforcement Officers (WEOs) attended the event. All received honors either as Certified WCOs for completing the required hours of training for PEMC’s WCO Certification Program or as awardees of the Annual Compliance Awards.
PEMC President Elvin Hayes E. Nidea opened the afternoon with a message of encouragement to all attendees and expressed his support towards the efforts given by the participants in maintaining a high standard of compliance all year round.
“We want to assure our participants that we will continue to work closely with you towards knowing more what is expected from our WESM members and diligently provide timely information about compliance matters,” President Nidea said.
The Keynote Speech was delivered by Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary Mario C. Marasigan as he expressed how the DOE has been the main partner of PEMC in making sure the electricity market provides competitive prices and fair business practices are consistently followed.
“We hope that this event will act as positive reinforcement in maintaining the high standards of compliance and adhering to the values set forth consistently all throughout,” said Asec. Marasigan.
The Annual Compliance Awards was divided into three (3) categories. The first set of awards was for the Metering Services Provider (MSP) Top Performers for those who have maintained passing ratings across all criteria (Daily Meter Data Delivery, Timeliness and Percentage Resolution to the Daily Meter Trouble Report, Integrity of Meter Data, Timeliness of Monthly Meter Data Delivery, and Timeliness and Percentage Resolution to the Monthly Meter Trouble Report) from January to December 2022.
MSP Performance Rating Awardees
| Rank | Company Name |
| 1st | Nueva Ecija I Electric Cooperative, Inc. |
| 2nd | Pampanga I Electric Cooperative, Inc. |
| 3rd | Batangas I Electric Cooperative, Inc. |
| 4th | Cagayan I Electric Cooperative, Inc. |
| 5th | Cabanatuan Electric Corporation |
| 6th | Aklan Electric Cooperative, Inc. |
| 7th | Pangasinan III Electric Cooperative, Inc. |
| 8th | Leyte V Electric Cooperative, Inc. |
| 9th | Balamban Enerzone Corporation |
| 10th | Batangas II Electric Cooperative, Inc. |
The second set of awards marks the first time that the exemplary efforts of the new Mindanao Trading Participants were recognized for their compliance with the Market Rules and Manuals from February to July 2023 after the WESM was launched on the island in January this year. The criteria for the determination of the Special Recognition for the Mindanao Trading Participants are similar to that of the Generator category – Offered Capacity Compliance and Dispatch Conformance Standards Rating, Availability, and other forms of Compliances, such as timeliness of submission in the Compliance Post-Evaluation Monitoring System (CPEMS) as well as the Annual Compliance Report, the Designation of WCOs, and attendance to trainings and seminars initiated by the Enforcement and Compliance Office.
Special Recognition Awardees
Must Dispatch Generation Units
| WESM Generator Classification | Rank | Company Name | Facility Name |
| Run-of-River Hydro | 1st | Hedcor Bukidnon, Inc. | Manolo Fortich 1 & 2 Hydroelectric Power Plantx |
| 2nd
|
Hedcor Sibulan, Inc. | Sibulan A, Sibulan B, and Tudaya 1 Hydroelectric Power Plants | |
| 3rd
|
Mindanao Energy Systems | Cabulig Mini-Hydroelectric Power Plant | |
| Solar | 1st | Asian Greenenergy Corp. | Kibawe Solar Power Plant |
Scheduled Generating Units
| WESM Generator Classification | Rank | Company Name | Facility Name |
| Coal | 1st | Therma South, Inc. | TSI Coal-Fired Power Plant Units 1 & 2 |
| 2nd | Sarangani Energy Corporation | Phase 2 Coal-Fired Power Plant | |
| 3rd | Sarangani Energy Corporation | Phase 1 Coal-Fired Power Plant | |
| Geothermal | 1st | Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation | Mindanao II Geothermal Power Plant |
| Hydro
|
1st | Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation | Agus V Hydroelectric Power Plant |
| 2nd | Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation | Pulangi IV Hydroelectric Power Plant | |
| 3rd | Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation | Agus VI Hydroelectric Power Plant | |
| Oil-Based | 1st | Mapalad Partners, Inc. | Digos Modular Diesel Power Plant |
| 2nd | Mapalad Energy Generation Corporation | Mapalad Diesel Power Plant | |
| 3rd | King Energy Generation Inc. – Maramag | Bukidnon Bunker C-Fired Diesel Power Plant 2 | |
| 4th | Supreme Power Corporation | Koronadal Bunker C-Fired Diesel Power | |
| 5th | King Energy Generation Inc. – Tandag | Surigao Del Sur Power Plant |
The third set of awards recognized the Generator Market Participants’ commitment to fulfilling their obligations in offering their maximum available capacity and their compliance to their real-time schedule instructions. This covered the period January to December 2022 and is based on WESM generator classification (biomass, coal-fired, geothermal, hydroelectric, natural gas, and oil-based).
Generator Compliance Rating Awardees
Must Dispatch Generating Units
| WESM Generator Classification | Rank | Company Name | Facility Name |
| Run-of-River Hydro | 1st
|
Northern Renewables Generation Corporation | Bakun Hydro Electric Power Plant |
| 2nd
|
Hedcor Sabangan, Inc. | Sabangan Hydroelectric Power Plant | |
| 3rd
|
Sunwest Water and Electric Company 2, Inc. | Villasiga Hydroelectric Power Plant | |
| Solar | 1st | Terasu Energy Inc. | Sta. Rosa Solar Power Plant |
| 2nd | GIGASOL3, Inc. | Palauig Solar Power Plant | |
| 3rd | Sulu Electric Power and Light (Phils.), Inc. | Sepalco Castilla Solar Power Plant | |
| Wind | 1st | Guimaras Wind Corporation | San Lorenzo Wind Farm Project |
| 2nd | North Luzon Renewable Energy Corporation | Caparispisan Wind Power Plant | |
| 3rd | North Wind Power Development Corporation | Phase I, II and III Bangui Bay Wind Power Plant |
Scheduled Generating Units
| WESM Generator Classification | Rank | Company Name | Facility Name |
| Biomass | 1st | Pangea Green Energy Philippines, Inc. | PGEP Payatas Biogas Plant |
| 2nd | Montalban Methane Power Corp. | MMPC Biomass Power Plant | |
| 3rd | Isabela Biomass Energy Corporation | IBEC Biomass Power Plant | |
| Coal | 1st | Pagbilao Energy Corporation | Pagbilao 3 Power Plant |
| 2nd | Sual Power Inc. | Sual Coal-Fired Power Plant | |
| 3rd | Cebu Energy Development Corporation | CEDC Coal-Fired Thermal Power Plant | |
| Geothermal | 1st | Green Core Geothermal Inc. | Tongonan Geothermal Power Plant |
| 2nd | Energy Development Corporation | Nasulo Geothermal Power Plant | |
| 3rd | Bac-Man Geothermal Inc. | Bacman Geothermal Power Plant | |
| Hydro | 1st | SN Aboitiz Power – Benguet, Inc. | Binga Hydroelectric Power Plant |
| 2nd | SN Aboitiz Power – Benguet, Inc. | Ambuklao Hydroelectric Power Plant | |
| 3rd | Angat Hydropower Corporation | Angat Hydroelectric Power Plant | |
| Natural Gas | 1st | FGP Corporation | San Lorenzo Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine Power Plant |
| 2nd | First Gas Power Corporation | Sta. Rita Natural Gas Power Plant | |
| 3rd | Prime Meridian PowerGen Corporation | San Gabriel Avion Natural Gas-Fired Power Plant | |
| Oil-Based | 1st | SPC Island Power Corporation | Panay Diesel Power Plant 1 |
| 2nd | SPC Island Power Corporation | Panay Diesel Power Plant 3 | |
| 3rd | SPC Power Corporation | Power Barge 104 |
Non-Scheduled Generating Units
| WESM Generator Classification | Rank | Company Name | Facility Name |
| Hydro | 1st | SN Aboitiz Power – Magat, Inc. | Maris Canal Hydroelectric Power Plant |
| Hydro | 2nd | Amlan Hydroelectric Power Corporation | Amlan Hydro Electric Power Plant |
| Biomass | 3rd | Asian Carbon Neutral Power Corp. | ACNPC Tarlac Biomass Plant |
The awarding ceremonies ended with Dr. Peter L. U, Chairman of the WESM Compliance Committee, giving praise to the ECO of the company for their tireless effort in making sure a very important milestone was achieved. “We are also very proud to share ECO’s and the Compliance Committee’s role in the Zero Backlog Project, which ensured the speedy but equitable resolution of the pending cases for investigation,” Dr. U said in his speech.
Amid implementing austerity measures, the WCO Summit was cancelled due to budget constraints. But PEMC Management, supported by its Board of Directors, refused to let the year end without recognizing the trading participants’ exemplary achievements in market compliance this past year.
Compliance Committee Member, Atty. Alejandre C. Dueñas II, emphasized PEMC’s commitment during his Toast, “Though challenges are inevitable, we look forward to another exciting year of market compliance. PEMC will continue to work hand in hand with our Market Participants and will be as transparent as we’ve always been in what is expected in terms of compliance.”
