IGCC claims proposed route for Panay-Guimaras project more viable option

MANILA, Philippines — The Iloilo Grain Complex Corp. (IGCC), which has a right-of-way issue with the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) over a property that will be used for the latter’s transmission project in the Visayas, said that its proposed route to complete the Panay-Guimaras 138 kilovolt (kV) interconnection project is a more economically viable option.

In a statement, IGCC spokesperson Toby Tañada said the company has proposed that NGCP’s existing 69-kV line can share posts, structures, and right-of-way since it can be “underbuilt” under the proposed 138-kV transmission line.

He said underbuilt lines are a common practice in distribution systems in the country, as well as transmission systems built by NGCP’s state-owned predecessor, the National Transmission Corp.

“IGCC believes that our company’s proposed route for the project is not only technically feasible, but is also more economically viable following a direct route than the proposed NGCP route which follows a less direct, longer route,” Tañada said.

“Under our proposed route, the existing 69-kV line can share posts/structures and right-of-way since it can be underbuilt under the proposed 138-kV transmission line,” he said.

IGCC cited as few examples the underbuilt transmission systems used in the La Trinidad-Loakan 69-kV line in Benguet, the Bacolod-San Enrique and Bacolod-Alijis 69-kV transmission line in Negros, and NGCP’s Ormoc-Maasin 138-kV transmission line and 69-kV in Leyte.

Tañada said IGCC’s sister company, La Filipina Uy Gongco Corp., would not object to the proposed alternative transmission line route which traverses its property.

Last week, NGCP said its Panay-Guimaras 138-kV interconnection project has hit a snag due to a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Supreme Court, preventing the company from carrying out one of the components crucial to the project’s completion.

However, IGCC said the NGCP has only itself to blame for the delay in the interconnection project.

It said blaming the Supreme Court restraining order for the snag in its transmission project is a lame excuse for NGCP’s failure to follow expropriation rules and secure necessary permits from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

“Records will show that from the start it was NGCP that caused the delay of its own project. It did not secure the required ERC permit; failed to make a genuine just compensation offer to IGCC; and refused to consider cheaper and more practical right-of-way alternatives,” Tañada said.

According to the power transmission operator, two tower sites fall under the property of IGCC which are considered crucial as this 1.7-kilometer transmission line will connect the proposed Iloilo Substation to the Ingore Cable Terminal Station which will serve as the connection point of the submarine cable to Guimaras Island.

The Panay-Guimaras 138-kV interconnection is one of NGCP’s priority projects as it is expected to improve power transmission in the area.

NGCP said it filed an expropriation case in September last year to acquire the IGCC property, which was granted by the Iloilo Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 33 on Nov. 3, 2022, and a writ of possession was later on issued on Dec. 12, 2022.

IGCC questioned the RTC’s ruling and secured a TRO from the high court in April which barred NGCP from taking possession of the food company’s property.

NGCP earlier said it hesitates to move forward with the IGCC’s proposal which involves a re-route through a residential area directly traversing five households, as opposed to the open area traversed by the project’s current route covered by the writs of possession.

NGCP noted that any deviation in the established route may also affect adjacent towers and cause further delay in the completion of the project.

In plotting the route of its transmission line projects, the company said a major consideration is to traverse areas that will cause least destruction to property, and result in the least number of persons displaced.

NGCP has nonetheless committed to do what it can to push the immediate completion of the critical project in the interest of the public’s convenience and the continuing growth of Iloilo.

The project, which was originally targeted for completion by December 2024, will address the increasing demand for power in Iloilo City, and provide greater transfer capacity to and from Guimaras Island, where renewable energy projects are being developed.