DC2013-01-0002: Promulgating the Retail Rules for the Integration of Retail Competition and Open Access in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market
Department Circular No. DC2013-01-0002, signed 9 January 2013 by DOE Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla. Promulgates the Retail Rules (Annex A) — the operational rulebook that integrates Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) into WESM operations, governance, and settlement. This is the parent framework DC2013-07-0014 ’s four Retail Market Manuals implement in detail, drafted by the Central Registration Body (PEMC) pursuant to these Rules [DC2013-07-0014, Preamble, 2013-07].
Legislative Position
The Retail Rules sit between the RCOA policy circulars and their operational manuals [DC2013-01-0002, Whereas clauses, 2013-01-09]:
- DC2012-05-0005 (9 May 2012) — general RCOA policies (“Prescribed Policies”)
- DC2012-11-0010 (28 November 2012) — additional guidelines amending DC2012-05-0005
- ERC’s final Transitory Rules (17 December 2012)
- DC2013-01-0002 (9 January 2013) — this circular, the Retail Rules
- DC2013-07-0014 (July 2013) — the four Retail Market Manuals, RCOA Commencement Date 26 June 2013
The draft Retail Rules were published on DOE’s and WESM’s websites in October 2012 and presented at seven regional public consultations (Iloilo, Makati, Naga, Batangas, Cebu, Pampanga, Baguio) between 9 and 23 October 2012, then finalized against ERC’s December 2012 Transitory Rules [DC2013-01-0002, Whereas clauses, 2013-01-09].
Chapter 1 — Introduction and the Central Registration Body
The Retail Rules implement EPIRA and its IRR to promote retail competition, customer choice, and efficiency, and are read together with the WESM Rules [Retail Rules, §1.2, 2013-01-09]. The Central Registration Body (CRB) — PEMC/IEMOP ’s role in this framework — administers retail competition, carries out customer switching, and provides information exchange among WESM Participants; where it must develop procedures, it must weigh compliance costs and route changes through the WESM Rules’ rule-change process, subject to DOE approval [Retail Rules, §1.4, 2013-01-09]. The CRB must act per applicable law, reasonably, prudently, and in good faith, keeping a full audit trail; the PEM Board sets (DOE-approved) CRB performance standards and publishes an annual performance report, while the PEM Auditor audits the CRB’s systems and software [Retail Rules, §1.4.2–1.4.3, 2013-01-09].
Chapter 2 — Registration
Only ERC-certified Contestable Customers may register and transact in the WESM (directly-connected end-users register regardless of certification). A newly-certified customer has 30 days to apply as a Direct WESM Member or elect a Supplier as its Indirect-Member counterparty, remaining DU-served until registration succeeds [Retail Rules, §2.2, 2013-01-09]. Suppliers need an ERC license and Direct-Member WESM registration; Distribution Utilities register separately as Direct/Indirect Member (captive customers), local Supplier, and Supplier of Last Resort (SOLR); Retail Metering Services Providers (RMSPs) need an ERC license and WESM registration, though DUs default into the RMSP role for their franchise area without further registration [Retail Rules, §2.4, 2013-01-09].
Chapter 3 — The Market
Customer switching [Retail Rules, §3.2, 2013-01-09]: requires an existing supply contract plus valid wheeling and metering-services agreements; takes effect only at a billing period’s start (except SOLR-to-Supplier switches, which the CRB may allow mid-period). The new Supplier submits the switch request ≥30 days before the proposed effective date; the CRB verifies conditions, requires prudential updates, and notifies all parties — with the customer remaining responsible for settling obligations to both Suppliers.
Settlement [Retail Rules, §3.3, 2013-01-09]: Gross ex-ante and ex-post settlement quantities at each grid off-take metering point are allocated among connected Trading Participants per Appendix A’s formulas; a DU’s settlement quantity is the residual after its Contestable Customers’ quantities are subtracted. Absent timely meter data, historical load profiles substitute, with a later settlement revision once real data arrives.
Supplier failure and SOLR transfer [Retail Rules, §3.4, 2013-01-09]: A Contestable Customer moves to the SOLR when its Supplier ceases operating, loses its ERC license, loses WESM membership, or loses its transmission/distribution service agreements. An Indirect Member has 24 hours to notify the CRB and SOLR of its election, the SOLR then has 24 hours to communicate terms, and both confirm to the CRB within 48 hours of the original notice; non-electing or non-compliant customers are disconnected on CRB notice.
Chapter 4 — Metering
Governs RMSP metering obligations for DU-connected Contestable Customers only (directly-connected customers follow WESM Rules Chapter 4 instead) [Retail Rules, §4.1, 2013-01-09]. Metering installations must be registered, accurate, secure, capable of transmitting to the RMSP database, and equipped with an internal data logger (≥60 days’ storage, 48-hour backup) [Retail Rules, §4.3, 2013-01-09]. RMSPs must maintain ≥99% annual data availability, repair malfunctions within 2 days, and synchronize clocks to Philippine Standard Time [Retail Rules, §4.3.7–4.3.8, 2013-01-09]. The CRB’s metering database retains data in accessible form for 16 months and in archive for 10 years [Retail Rules, §4.5.2, 2013-01-09], with read-only access limited to twelve named categories of rightsholder — Suppliers, RMSPs, the CRB, the Market Operator, the customer itself, the relevant DU, the Market Surveillance Committee, the Enforcement and Compliance Office, the Market Assessment Group, the PEM Auditor, DOE, and ERC [Retail Rules, §4.5.3, 2013-01-09]. The PEM Auditor reviews RMSP/CRB metering compliance annually.
Chapter 5 — Transitory Provisions
Registration must complete ≥30 days before the transition period ends; late registrants must elect SOLR service, continued DU-captive service, or disconnection, with the electing party’s counterparty notifying the CRB ≥12 days before that deadline [Retail Rules, §5.3, §5.7, 2013-01-09]. No Supplier transfers or customer switching occur during initial commercial operations itself. Before the transition period starts, the CRB assesses each Contestable Customer’s/Supplier’s initial trading limits and prudential requirements from 12 months of prior load-profile data, with required securities due ≥30 days before initial commercial operations begin [Retail Rules, §5.10, 2013-01-09].
Chapter 6 — Glossary and Appendix A
Chapter 6 defines the Retail Rules’ key terms (Contestable Customer, CRB, Last Resort Supply Event, Open Access Date, Retail Metering Services Provider, SOLR, Transition Period, and others). Appendix A sets out the algebraic settlement-calculation formulas underlying Chapter 3 — ex-ante/ex-post energy trading amounts, allocation of settlement quantities between Contestable Customers and DUs at a shared metering point, and line-rental trading amounts tied to bilateral contract quantities.
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