VISAYAS-MINDANAO GRID CONNECTION BEGINS

Mindanao expected to be soon connected to national grid by 2020 once interconnection is completed.

Pre-contruction activities for the Visayas-Mindanao Interconnection Project has already begun, an official from the National Grid Corporation Philippines (NGCP) said.

Mae Roselle Curiano, NGCP North-Central Midanao Corporate affairs and public relations department officer, said during the weekly Kapehan sa Dabaw press conference at SM City Davao that these activities include the ancillary survey, securing of needed permits, right-of-way (ROW) valuation, and processing of other necessary documents for the implementation of the project.

On July 11, 2017, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) granted provisional authority to NGCP to implement the interconnection project.

Curiano said a submarine cable, approximately 92 kilometers, will be laid down to connect Santander, Cebu and Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte. The ERC in a statement also said converter stations will be located in Sibonga, Cebu and Aurora, Zamboan- ga del Sur, respectively.

She said the project is targeted to be completed by 2020 and has an estimated cost of P52 million. The project is fully funded by the NGCP.

“If we are interconnected, this will help lessen the outages not only in Mindanao but also nationwide. This will enable the maximize use of energy sources and ensure power sharing resources across the country,” Curiano said.

Curiano said NGCP will also construct 350kv overhead transmission lines from Zamboanga del Norte to Lanao del Norte.

However, ERC said in a statement that their grant of green light to NGCP’s Visayas-Mindanao Interconnection Project is subject to certain conditions: the proposed project shall be subject to optimization based on its actual use and/or implementation during the reset process for the next regulatory period; NGCP is required to conduct competitive bidding for the purchase of major materials in the implementation of the project; and NGCP’s payment of the permit fee.