NGCP on track with P52 B Mindanao interconnection

The P52-billion Visayas-Mindanao Interconnection Project (VIMP) is on track to open up Mindanao to the rest of the power grid by 2020 to bring in development into the region, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said.

The grid operator contributes to the country’s social and economic development while ensuring reliable electricity transmission through projects hinged on education, safety, and power industry development, NGCP OIC-president and CEO Anthony Almeda said during the Technical Congress Southeast Asia 2018.

“One Grid 2020,” or the P51.6-billion VMIP, aims to connect the Mindanao grid to the Visayas grid by 2020.

Through the VMIP, the nation stands to benefit as all three major islands of the country will be able to share and transmit power when and where it is needed, thereby creating a unified and more resilient grid.

“The project will not only open up the market for both Visayas and Mindanao, but will also be critical to the stability of power supply and transmission services nationwide. Ultimately, this will support and realize our vision for a unified national grid,” Almeda said.

In September 2017, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) granted NGCP a provisional authority to connect the Visayas and Mindanao power grids via Cebu and Zamboanga.

The application was filed in April that year after it completed a commissioned hydrographic survey on the said route.

NGCP has estimated to complete the project in 46 months, or roughly four years, with an estimated cost of P51.69 billion.

Almeda also highlighted the need to work with stakeholders to address current issues that impact the power industry, such as asset management strategies for aging electrical grid infrastructure.

“Economies in Southeast Asia continue to be more demanding as progress and development continually grow; with that, the need to constantly satisfy the requirement for sustainable, reliable, resilient, and efficient power services requires the innovation and non-stop operations of all our facilities and systems,” he said.

“As the sole transmission service provider in charge of system operations, NGCP has a unique overarching view of the power industry as we connect generators to distributors and power consumers. It is then only natural that we, together with our partners and stakeholders, be at the forefront of all efforts to address the different issues that will determine where our energy practices and strategies will lead our country and the region,” he said.

Almeda said among the challenges in the transmission sector is the incoming development of renewable energy projects.

The grid operator also needs to constantly develop a skilled and resilient workforce to ensure the reliability of the country’s power grid.

“While the TechCon welcomes participants from our industry partners, it is essentially a program to develop our own talent pool. This is part of NGCP’s five-year career development plan for our engineers, designed to let them grow with the company in their chosen field while delivering top service to our customers. It is a progressive way to learn, share, and think big, with our seasoned engineers passing their knowledge on to our younger generation of engineers,” Almeda said.