NGCP aligns plan with Asean power interconnection vision

National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said it was working on a transmission development plan to prepare the Philippines for possible power interconnection with its Asean neighbors.

However, NGCP said the Philippines must work on its own grid system first and it might take several more years before it would be ready for interconnectivity.

NGCP said it had shared with local officials and foreign experts its plans of interconnecting major islands and reinforcing the Visayas transmission grid.

The major islands intended for interconnection are Visayas, Mindanao and Mindoro in Luzon.

NGCP said it had filed for provisional authority with the Energy Regulatory Commission to conduct a feasibility study for the interconnection project.

With the Asean integration gaining momentum, plans are being made for power transmission interconnection between Asean countries.

“It is high time that industry players start the conversations going and work toward cleaner and more sustainable energy sources, and toward a successful and competitive energy industry that is at par with, if not better than their Asean counterparts,” said NGCP president and CEO Henry Sy Jr.

For 2016 alone, NGCP had applied for the approval of 38 projects worth a total of P8.05 billion, but the Energy Regulatory Commission has so far approved only 7 of these projects worth P1.1 billion.

The approved projects are as follow: the Tiwi and Naga Substation Upgrading, Clark-Mabiga 69 kilovolt (kV) transmission line, Bataan 230kV grid reinforcement, Hermosa-San Jose transmission line, revenue metering expansion, and security infrastructure project, ERC chair Jose Vicente B. Salazar said in a text message.

Those were the only projects found to be “necessary” for NGCP to comply with existing rules and address issues on grid capacity, reliability, safety and protection, Salazar said.

Bambang Hermawanto, chair of the Asean Power Grid Consultative Committee (APGCC), has said in a presentation in a recent forum that the proposed regional power transmission interconnection could take a route going through Sabah, Malaysia and on to the Philippines.

“The Asean Power Grid is a long-term project of member countries, and it may take several more years to be fully realized. NGCP is aligning with the Asean vision by developing first our very own transmission grid.  We need to have a strong and reliable power transmission network within our country before we can interconnect with other nations,” NGCP said.

NGCP is a private corporation in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s power grid. It transmits high-voltage electricity through “power superhighways” that include the interconnected system of transmission lines, towers, substations, and related assets.