NGCP blames informal settlers for delays in upgrade works

MANILA, Philippines - Right-of-way (ROW) issues involving informal settlers have caused a two-year delay in the San Jose-Quezon 230-kilovolt (kv) transmission line project of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).

In a statement, NGCP said informal settlers in Quezon City, Caloocan City, Valenzuela City and San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan have refused to allow its linemen to enter the properties to conduct line and tower inspection, maintenance and upgrading activities, despite several negotiations and repeated pleas made by the grid operator, which legally holds the ROW in these areas near and around the San Jose-Quezon transmission line project.

The project was originally scheduled to be completed in 2013.

The San Jose-Quezon transmission project aims to prevent possible transmission congestion by putting in place 19 kilometers of lines, power circuit breakers and associated equipment at the San Jose and Quezon substations.

San Jose is the main merging point of bulk generation coming from northern Luzon.

For the project upgrade, NGCP identified 23 “workable” tower sites for the line project, but 67 sites were deemed “not workable” due to stalled negotiations with the informal settlers.

Of the 67 sites, 10 are already the subject of expropriation cases filed by the company, while 57 are still undergoing negotiations for payment.

There are 1,022 houses and structures along the San Jose-Quezon line, but only 85 households have agreed to payment, and only 24 were relocated. The rest are in various stages of validation, processing and negotiations.

NGCP stressed it cannot maintain or upgrade the line properly with resistance from the residents, which could result in the loss of bulk power supply to Metro Manila.

“We enjoin the residents to see past their own interests and think of the common good. This is not for NGCP’s benefit or for private gain. The right-of-way in question is for the benefit of a public facility, and the immediate and primary beneficiaries are the electricity consumers in Metro Manila,” NGCP said.

Violating safety clearances also poses dangers to the public, like electrocution, accidents, and line trippings or outages affecting electricity consumers.

“These accidents may be averted with proper and timely maintenance and correction work. Our regular maintenance activities, as well as expansion and upgrading projects, aim to enhance the reliability and quality of electricity delivered to grid customers. While we are a private company, we are engaged in a public service. And it is our every intention to discharge that public service to the best of our abilities. But we need the support of the public to do this,” NGCP said.