NGCP vows commitment to President Marcos’s energy vision

CEBU, Philippines — The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has pledged to commit  to the realization of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. energy initiatives, as expressed in his recent State of the Nation Address (SONA).

In a statement, NGCP President and CEO Anthony Almeda vowed to to concentrate all available resources towards the completion of ongoing transmission projects, while expediting others in the pipeline.

“We agree with the President’s sentiments. Even before the SONA, NGCP has already been working towards the vision that he mentioned,” he said.

Recognizing the importance of increasing the presence of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix, NGCP will draw on its strategic partnership with the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC).

'Leveraging SGCC's expertise in renewable energy integration', Almeda said they hoped to bolster capabilities to hasten the transition to renewable and sustainable energy sources. The collaboration with SGCC would allow NGCP to accommodate the increasing adoption of renewable energy technologies into the national grid.

Almeda said they would also prioritize improving disaster resilience of the grid infrastructure, and vowed to intensify  ongoing upgrades of equipment and manpower, especially those that will prevent disruptions or provide quick repairs in case of natural disasters.

Currently, NGCP is developing local talent by investing in world-class training and scholarships for aspiring Filipino engineers.

Almeda added that after hearing it straight from the president, they know they are on the right track and are more motivated to complete all their objectives in a prompt manner.

Among NGCP's  top priorities are the swift completion of the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP) and Stage 3 of the Cebu-Negros-Panay Interconnection Project.

Almeda said both crucial projects have been partially energized, with the MVIP on track to be fully energized to 450MW by the third quarter of this year.

NGCP called upon all local government units to support the projects by promptly granting relevant permits and providing assistance in addressing right-of-way issues.

“We reiterate our call for what the President termed as a ‘cohesive, centralized, and systematic approach’ to planning, including that for energy for stability, resiliency, and independence," Almeda said.

"We echo the President's observation that while national goals are all within reach, ‘this will require not just the work of a single person or a single branch of government nor even the whole government acting alone, but the collective efforts achieved only by all Filipinos working together’,” he added.

In his SONA, the president said the country finally has a Unified National Grid, with the interconnection of the Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao grids.

He said the “One Grid, One Market” will enable more efficient transfers and more competitive pricing of electricity throughout the country.

The Energy Regulatory Commission, though, reported that 68 grid connections are delayed.

“We are conducting a performance review of our private concessionaire, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines. We look to NGCP to complete all of its deliverables, starting with the vital Mindanao-Visayas and Cebu-Negros-Panay interconnections,” the president had said.

Last April 30, NGCP successfully energized the ?52-billion MVIP--a landmark undertaking connecting the power grids of Visayas and Mindanao, which will provide a more reliable and sustainable transmission service as well as promote energy resource sharing.

The MVIP is considered as the country's biggest project in the history of the power industry and the first project that the Energy Investment Coordinating Council certified as "Energy Project of National Significance".

An initial load of 22.5 MegaWatts was carried by the MVIP's high voltage submarine and overhead lines from Mindanao to Visayas during the April 30 re-energization.

The MVIP comprises  a 184 circuit-kilometer (ckm) High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) submarine transmission line connecting the power grids of Mindanao and Visayas with a transfer capacity of 450MW expandable to as much as 900MW.

The project also includes converter stations in both regions and more than 500ckm of overhead lines to facilitate the flow of electricity.

Parts of the MVIP were completed in 2022, such as the Lala-Aurora 138kV Transmission Line, the 350kV Submarine Cable, and Cable Terminal Stations in Santander, Cebu, and Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte.

“NGCP is committed to providing the Filipino people with a reliable transmission network which is the backbone of the nation’s development. The completion of the MVIP is a significant step towards achieving that goal,” read the NGCP statement.

NGCP also reported that as of May 2023, it has invested P300 billion into what was in 2009, the government’s aging transmission system.

It said that 3,729 circuit-kilometers of transmission lines, 28 new substations, and an additional 31,190MVA of transformer capacity were installed in the past 14 years. — Ehda M. Dagooc (FREEMAN)