MVIP completion slated in June

MANILA, Philippines — The Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP) of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) will be completed in June, allowing the import-export of electricity at the maximum capacity, according to Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla.

This month, the MVIP will be able to partially allow power exchange between the two island grids.

“According to NGCP, the interconnection between Mindanao and Visayas will be 80 percent complete by March. Some of the extra power from the 450 megawatts (MW) available through the submarine cable, 80 percent of that can be transported to Visayas to Cebu. By June 30, 2023 that will be fully completed,” Lotilla said.

Last month, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) said the project is targeted for commissioning this March, allowing for the gradual import and export of electricity.

The MVIP will connect the Visayas and Mindanao grids through a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) system.

It covers 184-circuit-kilometer (ckm) of submarine cables and 526-ckm of overhead wires connecting Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte to Santander, Cebu.

Once completed, it will realize a one Philippine grid that will allow a power exchange of initial 450-MW capacity.

Apart from the MVIP, Lotilla said the Cebu-Negros-Panay interconnection project is also set for completion by mid-year.

The CNP interconnection project establishes a 230-kV backbone to accommodate the transmission of excess power from Panay and Negros towards the rest of Visayas.

The project is a part of NGCP’s goal to establish One Grid Philippines which will unify all three grids of the Philippines.

“If those things therefore are realized, we can have the stranded power from Negros also transported to Cebu and we can also have part of that go to Luzon,” Lotilla said.

The NGCP earlier warned of thin power supply this summer due to higher demand.

Meanwhile, DOE said there would be yellow alerts this summer due to thin power supply, but not dire enough to warrant rotational.

Based on its power outlook this year, Luzon grid’s critical dates are week 11 in March, weeks 13 and 17 in April, the whole month of May, 22nd and 23rd weeks in June, week 35 in September, week 42 in October, and week 47 in November.

A yellow alert will be raised when there are not enough reserves to cover the largest running generating unit at the time, but does not necessarily lead to power outages.

Red alert, on the other hand, is placed over the grid when the supply to demand balance further worsens, which can lead to rotating power interruptions.

“The good thing is temperatures have also helped. We also expect in April some at least weekly rainy days. That will help manage the rainy days,” Lotilla said.

“The performance of power plants are affected also by temperatures. We hope that this will not be the case. We just have to get through the difficult months, summer months,” he said.

To avoid supply disruptions during these critical months, the DOE chief said the maintenance program for the different power plants should be scheduled properly “to avoid as much as possible falling within those critical weeks.”