NGCP starts P17.9 B West Luzon grid expansion

MANILA, Philippines — The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) is implementing the Western Luzon grid expansion, which has a total project cost of P17.9 billion, to cater to the impending load growth in the western part of island.

NGCP said it is now working on a new transmission corridor through its Western Luzon 500-kiloVolt (kv) backbone project, which will be completed in phases.

The whole project will be constructed to accommodate the bulk generation in the Zambales area, such as the 2x300-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant of Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. (RP Energy).

NGCP said the first stage will involve the construction of the Castillejos-Hermosa 500-kV transmission line and will be connected to the new Hermosa substation.

This has an approved cost of P1.34 billion and is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2020.

The second stage will involve the construction of a new Castillejos substation, Bolo substation, and the Castillejos-Bolo 500-kv transmission line, which are all slated to be completed by 2025.

Apart from the Western Luzon 500-kv backbone project, NGCP is also gearing up for its other projects in Bataan.

These are the Mariveles-Hermosa 500-kv transmission line project, the Hermosa-San Jose 500kV transmission line project, and the Hermosa-Floridablanca 69kv transmission line project.

The construction of the Mariveles-Hermosa 500kv transmission line project will serve as a new transmission corridor to accommodate around 2,836 MW from power plants such as the GN Power Dinginin coal fired power plant, SMC Consolidated Power coal fired power plant, and the KEPCO-HHIC coal fired power plant project.

The project, which will cost P5.94 billion, entails the construction of a new Mariveles substation, along with the transmission line. It is targeted for completion in 2020.

Meanwhile, the Hermosa-San Jose 500kv transmission line project will be constructed as a new transmission corridor, which will cater to existing power plants in Bataan such as the Limay coal fired power plant, Subic Enron Diesel power plant, and generation capacity additions like the RP Energy coal fired power plant and San Miguel Corp. coal fired power plant.

This has a cost of P10.28 billion and is slated to be finished by 2020.

The Hermosa-Floridablanca 69kV Transmission Line, with an approved cost of P315.77 million was energized last February. It was constructed to support the old Hermosa-Guagua 69kV line and to address the low voltage concerns in the area.