The Department of Energy (DOE) is conducting an overall independent audit on the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC), operator of the electricity spot market, to ensure competitive power prices and safeguard consumers.

The DOE has issued an order to create an independent committee to review and audit the financial, operational and systems records of PEMC.

This follows the thrust of President Duterte to ensure the protection of the public from surging power prices.

PEMC operates the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), which was created under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001.

Under the DOE order, the independent committee is expected to complete the full review and audit on Feb. 28, 2017. However, the committee can request an extension if the DOE secretary allows.