Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara confirmed April 5 that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will lead the inauguration of the Cebu-Negros-Panay Backbone Project Stage 3 (CNP3) on April 8 in Bacolod City.
Guevara said the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) completed the 230-kilovolt CNP3 on March 27, four days ahead of the March 31 deadline.
She noted that with the completion of the CNP3, the entire backbone project in the Visayas is now running at full capacity.
“The importance of the completion of the CNP backbone, that’s 230 kV, is that there are now two possible routes to go to the needed islands. Before there was only one connection. The capacity used to be 380 (MW) and 400 megawatts now,” she added in a report from the Philippine News Agency.
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, during the Philippine Electric Power Industry Forum 2024 at the Iloilo Convention Center Friday, welcomed this development that is expected to improve the power situation in Panay Island.
Treñas said the CNP3 is an “immediate need” of Iloilo City and the rest of the Panay Island to avoid the occurrence of major blackouts, like what happed from Jan. 2 to 5, and in April last year, as well as early last month.
During the ceremonial energization of the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project in January this year, Marcos directed the NGCP to finish the CNP3 to avoid similar power woes.
“We cannot afford to have another round of this costly interruption, not only in Panay Island but anywhere in the country. So, let’s move forward with the lessons that we have gained from this blackout and make sure that this massive inconvenience and loss for our people should not occur again,” Marcos said.
The DOE earlier said the Panay grid will be strengthened upon the completion of the CNP transmission upgrade. ||
