NEDA okays P3-B power transmission projects

The Investment Coordination Council-Cabinet Committee (ICC-CC) of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has given its approval to over P3-billion worth of power transmission projects.

The power projects will be placed under the National Transmission Corp. (Transco) in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Among these projects is the P1.1-billion 138- kilovolt (kV) Gen. Santos-Tacurong transmission line. It will expand power substations as well as replace old wood pole-supported single circuit lines in the area.

"This project would ensure power system stability and reliability in Southwestern Mindanao, considering that the old existing system has already reached its economic life, thus a candidate for improvement," said Jonathan L. Uy, NEDA’s Public Investment Staff director.

Uy added that the project is compliant with the National Grid Code (NGC) aside from providing higher power transfer capacity between the substations as well as access to future base load plants in Gen. Santos City and Sultan Kudarat in the Mindanao Grid.

Of the total amount, P882.88 million will be funded from loan proceeds while P204.70 million will be the Philippine government counterpart. The project is financed under the Miyazawa Fund.

The Miyazawa Fund is a bilateral assistance package provided by the government of Japan to cover trade financing, financing for the manufacturing sector, assistance for structural reforms and for social safety net. It is a support package provided for Asian countries affected by the 1997 currency crisis in overcoming their economic difficulties and to contribute to the stability of international financial markets.

Another project is the P1.1-billion Sangali-Pitogo 138-kV transmission line. It will strengthen the Mindanao grid in preparation for the anticipated power demand increase in the region. The project involves the construction of a 32-km, 138-KV double circuit steel pole transmission line from Sangali substation to the Zamboanga City load center at Pitogo. It will expand the Sangali substation and the Lunzuran switching station and establish a new Pitogo substation. The project will be financed through the Miyazawa and Calyon funds, targeted for completion by end 2006.

A third project is the P865.5 million Wright-Calbayog 138-kV transmission line project. It will have the capacity to ferry power safely and is crucial to the full implementation of the Open Access Transmission Service (OATS) and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

"This is a priority Transco project that was approved by the (NEDA) Board under the 2004 Transmission Development Program (TDP). It is part of the Visayas Island Transmission Augmentation Program (Project VISTA)," Uy.

Eastern Visayas has been exporting power to Luzon and the Visayas using steel towers while the transmission lines in the region, particularly in Samar Island, are still using wood pole structures.