Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP)

The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) is a private non-profit corporation that serves as the Market Operator (MO) of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), operating under authorization from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). IEMOP assumed market operations from the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC) in 2018. DOE holds final approval authority over market rules [PEP 2023-2050 Vol. II, p.94, 2023].

PEMC, the original market governance body created under EPIRA (RA 9136), continues to exist as a governance and oversight arm alongside IEMOP’s operational role.

Role in WESM

IEMOP’s operational responsibilities cover the full market cycle [PEP 2023-2050 Vol. II, pp.94–98, 2023]:

• Dispatch scheduling — runs the market algorithm to determine least-cost dispatch across all registered generation resources on a five-minute interval basis
• Settlement — calculates and settles market transactions for all 433 registered WESM participants (October 2023): 202 GenCos, 178 Customer Trading Participants, 37 Ancillary Service Providers, 16 Metering Service Providers
• Market rule implementation — implements DOE/ERC-approved market rules; 19 Department Circulars covering rule amendments issued in 2022–2023
• Market data and reporting — publishes spot prices, transaction volumes, and market monitoring reports
• Reserve Market operations — implementing Trial Operations Program (TOP) directed by DOE Advisory on 26 June 2023; Phase 1 commercial operations targeted 26 March 2024 pending ERC PDM approval

Market Studies

IEMOP conducted the foundational Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC) study (2020) on an Electricity Derivatives Market (EDM) / Contracts for Difference (CfD) mechanism, which identified significant legal and regulatory barriers: only banks and insurance companies are authorized for OTC derivatives; only equity, interest rate, and currency derivatives are currently actively traded. IEMOP continues studying EDM/CfD for medium-term (2025–2028) implementation [PEP 2023-2050 Vol. II, pp.97–98, 2023]. See Reserve Market and Electricity Derivatives (WESM) .

WESM Coverage

IEMOP administers all three grids under the DOE’s “one grid, one market” vision [PEP 2023-2050 Vol. II, p.94, 2023].

Governance Context

IEMOP participates in the PAAT-TNPSO (Performance Audit and Assessment Team for NGCP Transmission Network Performance and System Operations) under DO 2023-06-0018, alongside DOE, PEMC, TransCo, ERC, and PSALM [PEP 2023-2050 Vol. II, p.85, 2023]. PEMC remains listed as a separate governance participant in this body.