Vis-Min grid interconnection mulled

CEBU, Philippines — Areas in the Visayas and Mindanao are expected to share more power with the completion of the Visayas-Mindanao Interconnection Project, dubbed as the “biggest project in the history of the power industry.”

The project is among those in the pipeline of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, according to Hannel Tamayo, principal engineer of NGCP-Visayas System Planning Division.

Tamayo presented the status of NGCP’s ongoing projects in southern Philippines at yesterday’s Power Summit 101 in Cebu City.

She said the interconnection project will cover Cebu and Iloilo in the Visayas. It will soon take off in Cebu, connecting power from Cebu to Dipolog, and eventually connecting the three main power grids of the Philippines.

In June this year, Department of Energy assistant secretary Redentor Delola first revealed this interconnection plan to reporters.

“There are suggestions coming out and we are currently studying it, that the government will take charge of the interconnection using government funds so that burden will not be passed to the power consumer because if it is with NGCP it has to be recovered which is, actually, legal," he was quoted as saying by Sun Star Davao.

Delola added that the government wants to expedite the completion of the grid.

“Our timeline is by 2020 (to 2022), Mindanao should be connected to the Visayas and Luzon grid,” he said on the sidelines of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) Mindanao launching at SMX Convention Center, Lanang, Davao City in June.

If Mindanao grid is interconnected to the rest of the country, Delola said this will help the island and solve the power problems in Visayas at the same time.

NGCP, in an earlier statement, said this is in support to the government's priority program on island interconnections, as the company promotes the concept of power sharing between Visayas and Mindanao.

NGCP is a privately-owned company in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s power grids.  Other ongoing projects of NGCP in the Visayas include Central Cebu Grid, Cebu and Bohol Grid, Leyte-Samar Grid, Negros Grid, and Panay Grid.

During the summit, Department of Energy-7 Director Antonio Labios talked about power demand and situation outlook and Executive Order No. 30 creating the Energy Investment Coordinating Council.

Labios said the council was formed to streamline the regulatory procedures affecting energy projects. It also aims to strengthen the implementation of the DOE Law and the Electric Power Reform Act.

Labios said that by 2040, the Philippines will need about 43,765 megawatts in additional capacity. The Visayas region is expected to require an additional capacity of 9,180 megawatts by then.

So far, he added, power projects committed for the Visayas generate a total of 408 megawatts while the Visayas Indicative Power Project – consisting of solar, biomass, geothermal, hydro, wind, and coal – brings in 3,693 megawatts.

Yesterday’s Power Summit 101 was attended by media practitioners covering the power and energy beat, and aimed to develop a better understanding on the complex issues surrounding the power sector.

The summit tackled the roles and development plans of the industry members like the Department of Energy, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, Global Business Power Corporation, Mactan Electric Company, Philippine Electricity Market Corporation, and Mega Cebu, among others.

It was organized by power generator Global Business Power Corporation, a leading energy company in the Visayas region and Mindoro island.

On its website, GBP says it is engaged in the production of “adequate, reliable and cost-efficient power supply through five subsidiaries that operate 10 power generation facilities.”

The company also has diversified power generation facilities that can supply base, intermediate, peak load and ancillary support, offering flexible energy solutions for the market. (FREEMAN)