MANILA, Philippines — State-run National Power Corp. (Napocor) has switched on the transmission line loop interconnecting Oriental and Occidental Mindoro, allowing the two provinces to trade power supply, minimize systems loss and enjoy a more reliable electricity supply.
On Thursday night, President Duterte led the ceremonial switch-on and launch of the Occidental and Oriental Mindoro grid networks following the completion of the Bansud to Mansalay and Mansalay to San Jose 69-kilovolt (kV) lines, and the rehabilitation of the Minolo (Puerto Galera) to Mamburao 69-kV lines, located in the southern and northern part of the island, respectively.
Duterte was in Mindoro to inaugurate the national government’s eight seaport development projects and attend the meeting of the Joint National Task Force-Regional Task Force to end local communist armed conflict in Mimaropa.
Napocor officer-in-charge Donato Marcos said the two newly completed transmission lines and the rehabilitation of the rest of the transmission system put the two provinces in a loop.
This will allow the export and import of power between ORMECO and OMECO which is seen as one of the ways to address the power supply shortage on the island.
“The rehabilitation works also fortified our facilities making them more climate-resilient while improving the reliability of dispatch of power,” Marcos said.
Napocor, as mandated by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 or Republic Act 9136, is tasked to perform missionary electrification in the farthest communities and islands not connected to the main grid.
It is in this capacity that the corporation operates 276 Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) plants and facilitates the operation and maintenance of the transmission system of six provinces – Palawan, Catanduanes, Masbate, Marinduque, Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro.