NGCP plans P35-billion transmission projects

MANILA, Philippines - Transmission service provider National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) plans to undertake two key interconnection projects worth P35 billion, the company’s top executive said.

A new study is being conducted for transmission lines that will connect the Mindanao and Visayas grids, while up for regulatory approval is an alternate Luzon to Visayas connection.

“Right now, we are just having the studies done already. [The study] was done already 20 years ago but right now we are re-evaluating it,” NGCP president and CEO Henry Sy Jr. told reporters.

The study on the Leyte-Mindanao interconnection will be completed in the next few months, he said.

The NGCP targets starting the P24-billion project in 2017 or earlier.

Industry groups have earlier called for the Leyte-Mindanao interconnection to provide more capacity to electricity-starved Mindanao. However, Mindanao government officials are wary of having to pay higher electricity rates from Luzon and Visayas.

Meanwhile, the system operator is waiting for the Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval for the Batangas-Mindoro interconnection.

“No approval yet but right now, we are really pushing for it,” Sy said.

The ERC, which regulates the power sector, has to approve capital spending and cost recovery plans of industry players prior to a project being implemented.

“We have to talk with some of the cooperatives because we have long-term contracts with some generators already, but this could be resolved,” Sy said.

Several power generation firms will use the P11-billion Batangas-Mindoro transmission line to deliver additional output to customers in the long run.

NGCP, which earlier said that the Batangas-Mindoro interconnection will provide cheaper electricity to more than one million residents in Mindoro province, plans to start construction of the new interconnection in 2014.

At the launching of the Philippine Energy Plan 2012-2030, the Department of Energy (DOE) called for the expansion of energy access and the assurance of system reliability and integrity.

This will be achieved by upgrading and expanding the transmission lines, interconnecting Mindanao with the Visayas, and building the Batangas-Mindoro Interconnection, said DOE Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla.

The two interconnection projects form part of the NGCP’s nearly P100 billion capital spending for the creation of new transmission lines and substations, and the expansion of existing facilities nationwide in the next 10 years.

“The objective is to realize the one grid, one nation goal by interconnecting Mindanao and Visayas,” Petilla said.

The Transmission Development Plan wants to improve power transmission nationwide through the installation of new system reinforcements, development of alternative transmission corridors, prevention of heavy loading and upgrade of existing facilities for the NGCP to be the strongest power grid in Southeast Asia.

NGCP operates, maintains and develops the country’s power grid owned by National Transmission Corp. It transmits high-voltage electricity through power superhighways that include transmission lines, towers and substations.