THE Department of Energy (DoE) is set to restart the reserve market early this month.

In a statement on Friday, the agency said it directed the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines to coordinate with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines to make necessary adjustments to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) systems.

"The ERC's action to lift the suspension of Section 8 of the billing and settlement of the PDM (Price Determination Methodology) will lead to the resumption of the reserve market which is eagerly awaited by both the power sector industry and the DoE," said Energy Undersecretary Rowena Guevara.

"Coordination among the DoE, ERC, MO (market operator) and SO (system operator) are therefore crucial for the necessary adjustments to the WESM systems and processes to ensure the smooth implementation of the reserve market," said Guevara.

The said changes are required to align the reserve market's one-hour dispatch interval with the energy market's five-minute trading interval. The synchronization is essential for the efficient co-optimization of energy and reserves, the DoE said.

The Energy Department has also called on market operators to submit guidelines for approval to ensure compliance with the ERC's PDM.

It will issue an official advisory to resume the reserve market this August 5 once the guidelines are submitted.