We find it unfortunate that IEMOP was dragged into politics thru false accusations of corruption. IEMOP, the independent market operator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), is right now in the midst of very important developments in the electric power industry designed to ultimately benefit the consumers.
WESM plays a very vital role in the electric power industry. The transition of the market operation to an Independent Market Operator is mandated by Section 30 of RA 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA). With the joint endorsement of the DOE and the electric power industry participants, an independent entity was formed pursuant to the letter of the law.
IEMOP is a legitimate and lawful entity formed pursuant to EPIRA, tasked to operate the WESM. It is a non-stock, non-profit corporation. It does not require capital stock divided into shares and consequently, it does not distribute dividends to anyone. By its nature and functions, IEMOP does not earn income or profits. The cost of operating the WESM is recovered through market fees which are filed with and approved by the ERC and are recovered from generator trading participants. IEMOP does not earn billions of pesos from the consumers and does not have any contract with the DOE.
We therefore respectfully request Senator Manny Pacquiao to spare us from politics. The WESM has been operating already for fifteen years and has made significant contributions to the power industry. On June 26, we have transitioned WESM from a 1-hour market to a five-minute market. The Central Scheduling for the WESM in Mindanao also commenced in June 2021, twenty years after the enactment of EPIRA. The people from IEMOP have worked and continue to work hard to ensure the success of these market developments. We do not want to get distracted by political issues that are clearly false and misleading to the public.
