Transco switches on cable linking Banilad, Mactan

The National Transmission Commission yesterday switched on its 138-kilovolts underground cable connecting Banilad and Mactan substations, which will pave the way for more reliable power in Mactan Island soon.

Transco-Visayas area vice-president Jules Alcantara said the switching on of the line linking the two substations was in preparation for the supply of additional power to Mactan where economic locators and resort owners need it.

The activity is part of the P2.2-billion Cebu-Mactan Interconnection Project, which has been aimed at increasing the carrying capacity of the cables that transmit power to Mactan, said Alcantara.

President Gloria Arroyo visited Cebu last October 26 and led the ceremonial switch on of the CMIP, which she also launched a year ago. The Miyazawa Funds have underwrote the costs of the project through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

With the activation of the CMIP, Mactan and even Mandaue City, which are the hosts to big industries, will have enough power supply to sustain their economic activities.

Alcantara said CMIP can carry more than enough of the needed power for Mactan and it will replace Transco's 69-KV line, which has been burdened already beyond its capacity.

The CMIP will transform the existing old line into a robust link capable of bulk-power transfer via 138,000-volts cross-link polyethylene cables and 400 mega volts of substation capacity.

It would ensure the availability of quality power in Mandaue City and Mactan Island, both of which are hosts to a number of industrial and commercial establishments.

The power supplied to these two locations, through the CMIP, comes from the geothermal power plant in Leyte province via the Leyte-Cebu Interconnection Project. - Wenna A. Berondo