President Marcos giving NGCP trust

CEBU, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is putting his confidence on the National Grid Corporation of the Philippine’s (NGCP) promise to complete the 230-kilovolt Cebu-Negros-Panay backbone project by March this year.

He expressed this during the switch-on ceremony of the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP) at the Malacañang Palace the other day.

During his second State of the National Address (SONA) last year, the President assured that a performance review will be made on NGCP for it to complete its deliverables in the Cebu-Negros-Panay connection as a priority.

NGCP responded with an assurance of delivering on its promise.

“After a much-extended wait, I am pleased to finally see the energization of the 450-megawatt MVIP,” President Marcos said during the switch-on ceremony last Friday afternoon.

“This is the first time in the history in the country that the three major power grids-- Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao—are now physically connected”, he said.

A 184-circuit-kilometer High-Voltage Direct Current submarine cable with a transfer capacity of 450 MW now connects the Mindanao and Visayas grids via Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte and Santander in Cebu.

“This infrastructure allows power generated in Mindanao to supply our homes and establishments in Visayas and now all the way to Luzon, and vice versa….Indeed, this interconnection will unlock enormous socio-economic development potential for both Visayas and Mindanao…The realization of our “One Nation, One Grid” aspiration is definitely a crucial turning point for this country in ensuring reliable power at all times,” the President said.

While celebrating the latest development, though, President Marcos also took the time to discuss the situation in the Panay Island during the new year and some parts and Negros Occidental concerning power interruptions.

He said the power interruption caused P3.8 billion in economic losses in Iloilo alone and caused inconvenience in the Western Visayas.

“This incident emphasized that vital role of these interconnection projects. We cannot afford to have another round of this costly interruption, not only in Panay Island but anywhere in the country…So, let’s move forward with the lessons we have gained from this blackout, ensure that this massive inconvenience and loss for our people should not occur again,” the President said.

Along with this, he said he looks forward to NGCP’s assurances in the promised completion of the 230 kV Cebu-Negros-Panay backbone project by March of this year.

He also reminded NGCP to complete the Hermosa-San Jose 500-kV transmission lines next month.

“We do realize these are daunting tasks, but I call on you to faithfully fulfill these obligations which is so necessary for the progress of our country,” the President said.

In return, he assured that support and cooperation would be extended continuously by the government to ensure the timely completion of all significant transmission projects.

‘Grave concern’

Meanwhile, consumer rights and energy advocacy group Power for People Coalition (P4P) on Thursday expressed ‘grave concern’ over petitions filed by the Philippine Independent Power Producers Association’s (PIPPA) before the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

P4P alleged that the petitions “in essence demand on the removal of penalties their (PIPPA) member companies may incur for power plant outages, and of price caps meant to cushion consumers from the burden of fluctuating power prices.”

Last year, the group said that PIPPA made propositions to the ERC to relax the reliability benchmark rule, which sets a limit on allowable outages for power plants, ensuring that the available electricity to the public is sufficient to meet demand.

PIPPA also reportedly asked for an elimination of current price caps on spot markets, which serve to protect consumers from excessive cost of electricity during times of low power supply and high demand.

The ERC is rolling out online public consultations on the petitions in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

In a letter addressed to the ERC, P4P said that affordable and reliable electricity is a basic right of power consumers. That right, it said, is threatened by the petitions.

“PIPPA’s petitions…(refuse) accountability should they fail to provide service they owe, and by ensuring maximum profits at the expense of consumers. These petitions are irreconcilable to public interest, especially as the country enters the El Niño season and availability of power becomes all the more crucial,” the group said.

The called on the ERC to stand by the consumers and to “exhaust all means to ensure the accurate cascading of matters at hand and broadest possible participation of the public in the consultations”.

These includes “making the consultation publicly available in digital platforms, removing the stringent process of registration, publishing presentations and materials to be used in the consultations well before consultation dates, ensuring that materials used can cater to information needs of stakeholders, and hosting in-person consultations, which would be more accessible to stakeholders with challenges in accessing digital platforms. — (FREEMAN)