National Grid says it is ready for renewable energy projects

MANILA, Philippines - The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) will put up the needed transmission facilities once the pending renewable energy (RE) projects start to kick in.

NGCP officials claim that the company is working to put up the needed power transmission facilities since taking over the operations and maintenance of the transmission facilities in 2009.

“Currently, our energy highways are wide enough to accommodate all the available capacity. NGCP is ready for renewable energy,” Cynthia Alabanza, National Grid spokesperson, said.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is already conducting hearings on the feed-in tariff (FIT) or the cost charged per kilowatthour (kWh) for each renewable energy source.

The approval of the tariff is seen to usher the entry of RE projects will provide additional capacities to the grid.

The NGCP spends about P10 billion annually to upgrade the country’s transmission network. The company has submitted a proposal to connect Mindoro island to the Luzon grid, estimated to cost P11 billion.

In fact, it filed a petition with the ERC asking for approval of the Batangas-Mindoro interconnection project, which will help improve power supply in Mindoro.

“With the improvement of adequate and reliable power supply in the island as a result of the interconnection project, Mindoro will become conducive for expanding businesses in tourism, manufacturing and other industries thereby improving the economy of the island,” it said.

The plan is to link Mindoro to the Luzon grid via submarine cables that will run through the 230 kiloVolt (kV) substation in Batangas or through the Ilijan 500 kV substation.

The NGCP included the project as part of its 2009 and 2010 Transmission Development Plant, as the Mindoro power grid will become part of the system’s operation thus strengthening the transmission backbone of Mindoro.

“The interconnection project will also help encourage the development of possible coal-fired power plants within Mindoro which could utilize the existing rich coal resources in the island,” it said.

The NGCP is led by a group of local investors led by Henry Sy Jr. and its technical partner State Grid of China Corp.