NGCP cheers Marcos’ support for power projects

MANILA, Philippines — The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has welcomed President Marcos’ continuing support for its efforts to improve the reliability of the country’s power transmission network.

During his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, Marcos highlighted NGCP’s recently completed and energized transmission line projects.

These include the Mariveles-Hermosa-San Jose facility, the Cebu-Negros-Panay transmission line and the Mindanao-Visayas interconnection project.

“The mention of (these projects) in the SONA is a clear sign that our hard work is recognized as having made a positive impact and is fully aligned with his (Marcos) vision for a strong economy,” NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza said.

Alabanza also renewed calls for a unified, holistic and resource-based approach to energy planning to address issues in supply, bulk transmission and retail distribution.

“NGCP is ready to serve. With this, attention can now be properly trained at ensuring enough investments in the generation sector to meet increasing demand,” she added.

The grid operator last week activated the Cebu-Bohol interconnection project aimed at boosting supply reliability in the Bohol grid by providing direct access to bulk generation from Cebu.

With the completion of these transmission projects and new investments in the sector, Marcos expects the country’s power supply to expand at a “steady pace” to meet increasing demand over the next few years.

“We are continuously diagnosing and currently addressing power shortages, as well as the systemic causes of blackouts in unserved and underserved areas,” Marcos said during his almost one-and-a-half hour SONA.