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Brix Lelis - The Philippine Star
January 5, 2026 | 12:00am
The average effective WESM price from January to November 2025 stood at P4.32 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), according to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP).
STAR / File
MANILA, Philippines — Average prices in the country’s Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) declined to multi-year lows last year amid rising renewable energy capacity and improving supply margins.
The average effective WESM price from January to November 2025 stood at P4.32 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), according to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP).
This marks a 22.6-percent decline from the full-year average of P5.58 per kWh in 2024 and a 32.9-percent drop from the P6.44 per kWh recorded in 2023.
“Our assessment is that the market is definitely providing market signals to our investors,” IEMOP vice president for trading operations Isidro Cacho Jr. said in a recent interview.
WESM serves as a centralized platform for electricity trading where distribution utilities and electric cooperatives can source their energy requirements, with prices determined by supply and demand.
IEMOP, which operates WESM, has yet to announce the figures for the December billing period.
“Prices are not high at the moment, but we believe they are still at a level where investors are able to get their return on investment. So it still works for them,” Cacho said.
Notably, in the first half of 2025, the average WESM rate dropped to P4.14 per kWh, its lowest level since 2020.
On the power generation side, IEMOP said government policies have enabled the development of both conventional and emerging technologies, providing a much-needed boost to the country’s energy supply.
Likewise, improvements in the transmission system that reduced congestion also helped drive power rates lower, the market operator noted.
Over 10,000 megawatts of transmission capacity remained available across the country, most of which was in Luzon, latest data from the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines showed.
