PRIVATELY owned National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said on Tuesday that it had lined up at least four power transmission interconnection projects to add to those nearing completion, including the P 51.7-billion Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project that is scheduled to be finished in December 2020.
“The only way to forward this vision of a fully interconnected and integrated transmission system is to keep investing in the transmission grid. These projects will greatly benefit the country, energizing the entire archipelago even up to the farthest islands,” NGCP said in a statement.
“This will also prepare the entire Philippine grid for the integration to the proposed ASEAN Power Grid, promoting power sharing and optimization of generation capacity within the region,” it added.
NGCP said the projects are aimed at building what it called “One Grid Philippines,” its vision of a fully interconnected and integrated power grid using state-of-the-art technology.
It identified the future projects to include those interconnecting Batangas and Mindoro; Bataan and Cavite; Bataan and Pasay; Palawan and Mindoro; and the Laray-Cordova 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line.
“With over 7,600 islands in the Philippine archipelago, energizing and connecting major islands to the grid was a challenge that confronted NGCP when it took over from government,” said the company, which is led by businessmen Henry T. Sy, Jr. and Robert G. Coyiuto, Jr.
Among the first interconnection projects completed by NGCP is the first stage of the P6.1-billion Cebu-Negros-Panay submarine cable component, which increases the transfer capacity of the existing corridor.
The project’s second phase is an additional submarine cable for N-1 contingency, which will allow the transmission grid to withstand a major system disturbance with minimal disruption to the system between Negros and Panay islands.
NGCP said several interconnection projects are in the works, including the P47.8-billion stages two and three of the Cebu-Negros-Panay interconnection project, which will have a 230-kV backbone to accommodate the transmission of excess power from Panay and Negros towards the rest of the Visayas.
The company said pre-construction activities were set for the P8.5-billion Nabas-Caticlan-Boracay transmission line project that will address the growing demand in Boracay Island by providing additional capacity to support its development.
Also in the pre-construction phase is the P2.4-billion Panay-Guimaras 138kV transmission line.
NGCP is also building the P1.9-billion Cebu-Lapu Lapu 230kV transmission line project to maintain the continuous transmission of power towards the major load centers in Mandaue and Mactan during N-1 condition. It now in the middle of a survey and right-of-way activities for the project.
It said another interconnection is the P19.8-billion Cebu-Bohol 230-kV project, which will address overloading issues and enable sharing of power between the two islands once completed. It will form part of the Leyte-Bohol 230-kV loop system. — VVS
