Philippines establishing power reserve market

Want it within the year to prevent power outages.

The Philippines’ Department of Energy wants to develop a power reserve market to prevent frequent outages and satisfy the country's rising power demand.

Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said there's a frequency imbalanc" in the Philippines’ power grids because there aren't enough reserves. A reserve market provides additional power capacity that may be contracted by a grid operator for dispatch during emergencies.

"That is why we're pushing for a reserve market. We don't have a reserve market right now," Petilla said.

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, operator of the Philippines’ main transmission line, can enter into contracts with power generators to boost its reserves.

Petilla also said the country's transmission line will be upgraded this year since some of the equipment are already 25 years old and is scheduled for upgrading.