- CHERYL G. CRUZ
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines said it will expedite the completion of the Cebu-Negros-Panay (CNP) project that is now on Stage 3, as well as that of the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP).
Both crucial projects have been partially energized, with the MVIP on track to be fully energized to 450 megawatts this third quarter, the NGCP said in a statement, in response to the call of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Monday that it “completes all of its deliverables”.
Marcos, in his 2nd State of the Nation Address, said that while there is now a unified national grid, with the interconnection of Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao grids for more efficient transfers and competitive pricing of electricity throughout the country, 68 grid connections are much delayed, according to the Energy Regulatory Commission.
“We are conducting a performance review of our private concessionaire, the NGCP. We look to NGCP to complete all of its deliverables, starting with the vital Mindanao-Visayas and Cebu-Negros-Panay interconnections,” the President stressed.
The P52-billion MVIP, with an initial load of 22.5MW carried by the high voltage submarine and overhead lines from Mindanao to Visayas during its partial energization in April this year, connects the power grids of the two islands, with a transfer capacity of 450MW expandable to as much as 900MW, the NGCP said.
The project will benefit consumers by providing them with more reliable and sustainable power transmission service that will lessen instances of power interruptions, as well as promote energy resource sharing, as excess power generated in one region can now be transmitted to the other.
The power transmission service provider, meanwhile, said the CNP will establish a 230kV backbone “to accommodate the transmission of excess power from Panay and Negros towards the rest of Visayas.”
It called on concerned local government units to extend essential support by promptly granting relevant permits and providing necessary assistance in addressing right-of-way issues that have hindered the smooth implementation of these projects.
“We reiterate our call for what the President termed as a ‘cohesive, centralized, and systematic approach’ to planning, including that of energy for stability, resiliency, and independence,” the NGCP said, adding it supports Marcos’ energy initiatives and vowed to focus all resources to complete all existing transmission projects and expedite others in the pipeline./CGC
