THE Independent Electricity Market Operator (IEMOP) is still keen on establishing an interim electricity spot market for Palawan and the whole of Mindoro.

During The Manila Times energy forum titled "Environmental, Economical Generation" on Wednesday, IEMOP President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Nethercott said he is hopeful that the interim electricity spot market for Palawan and Mindoro will be operational within the year.

"So, what we are thinking is to accelerate the entry of the spot market there, (as) in Mindoro for example. Most of the generation capacity available in the area are all oil-based plants, which is naturally more expensive, and constructing a power plant and getting a power supply agreement (PSA) are two different things," he said.

Nethercott also mentioned that with an electricity market, the energy mix for the two areas will improve and help drive electricity prices down.

"If you allow RE (renewable energy) in, it will improve the energy mix and there will be more technologies playing, (which in turn) will help drive down prices as well," the IEMOP official added.

He said that if the electricity spot market is in place to serve Palawan and the whole of Mindoro, there will be less problems with rates and transmission.

"Interconnection will indeed happen; it is just a matter of when. But if you already have a market operating in Mindoro for example, once interconnection happens, then we will have no problem in settling the (rate of) energy imported and energy exported (to and from Mindoro)," Nethercott said.

On the progress of establishing an interim electricity spot market for the two areas, Nethercott said that the draft guidelines for creating the technical working group have already been done, but it will need the go-signal from the concerned agencies and regulators.

"For it to come to fruition, we need the go-signal from the Department of Energy, and the Energy Regulatory Commission," Nethercott said.

He added that establishing the interim electricity spot market for Palawan and the whole of Mindoro is feasible, but there are possible obstacles.

"For the factors, right now there are mostly generation plants that run on diesel and that will be discussed. How will you initially set the price? But other than that, feasibility and doability is okay," Nethercott said.

Last year, Nethercott said during a discussion with Mindoro stakeholders that the island is a "low-hanging fruit" for an interim electricity spot market.