Transco completes Leyte-Cebu project ahead of schedule

The National Transmission Corp. (Transco) has completed ahead of schedule its $68.5-million Leyte-Cebu interconnection uprating project (LCIUP), which will double the carrying capacity of Transco’s existing submarine cables from 200 megawatts (MW) to 400 MW.

"Cebu will no longer have brownouts for the next five or seven years. We’re making sure there will be quality and affordable power in the Visayas, particularly in Cebu, at all times." Transco president and chief executive officer Alan T. Ortiz said.

Ortiz, who recently monitored the start of LCIUP’s testing and commissioning, said the 230-kilovolt submarine cables spanning 33.3 circuit kilometers from Tugas, Tabango in Leyte to Talisay, Daanbantayan in Cebu is already delivering much-needed power to the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid from the geothermal fields in Tongonan, Leyte.

Ortiz said the timely completion of the project is critical in the wake of surging oil prices which are now at record high levels.

Aside from stabilizing the power situation in the Visayas, the use of clean and indigenous geothermal energy from Leyte is also expected to reduce the country’s dependence on imported fuel and save the government around P600 million a month in fuel consumption by diesel-fired power plants.

Imported fuel such as bunker oil or diesel accounts for 90 percent of generation costs in operating diesel and gas turbine power plants.

The Leyte-Cebu link-up sets the stage for the completion of the Cebu-Mactan interconnection project in October this year which will deliver power to the Mactan Export Processing Zone and the myriad of other industrial, commercial and tourist industries in Mandaue and Mactan.

"This is Transco’s humble contribution in preserving the 40,000 jobs in the Mactan Export Processing Zone. By providing reliable power, we’re ensuring that the 250 locators will not have to go to Vietnam or Thailand or some other parts of Asia to do their business," Ortiz said.