One Philippines power grid happening soon

MANILA, Philippines — The realization of a one Philippine grid is expected to happen this year with the  completion of the P52 billion Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP) of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).

The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) said the project is targeted for commissioning by next month.

“We have talked to the technical people of NGCP and they said the start of testing is March,” IEMOP chief operating officer Robinson Descanzo said.

“Gradually, it will start with a small megawatt amount for the import-export through that interconnection until the maximum capacity of the cable is reached, which is 450 megawatts,” he added.

The MVIP will connect the Visayas and Mindanao grids through a high-voltage direct current system.

It covers 184-circuit-kilometer (ckm) of submarine cables and 526-ckm of overhead wires connecting Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte to Santander, Cebu.

Once completed, it will realize a one Philippine grid that will allow a power exchange of initial 450-MW capacity.

“Probably by March, we will see around 20 MW. Towards April, May, June either 80 MW or 100 MW. So these are estimates, but again, the buildup of export of power from Mindanao to Visayas and vice versa will be gradual,” Descanzo said.

In July last year, NGCP announced that it has completed several integral components of the MVIP.

These include the construction of the Santander, Cebu and Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte Cable Terminal Stations, two 92-kilometer 350-kilovolt high voltage direct current submarine cable, and two 92-kilometer fiber optic cables.

NGCP is a Filipino-led, privately owned company in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s electricity transmission grid.

Work on the submarine cable component commenced in November 2018, but restrictions on entry of foreign experts, work suspension, and manpower reduction brought about by the pandemic contributed to significant delays in the project’s execution.

The Department of Energy earlier said the reliability of electric power supply in the country is expected to improve with the completion of the MVIP and the commercial operation of the WESM Mindanao.

The agency said the commercial operation of the MVIP necessitates the implementation of WESM in Mindanao to allow the efficient transfer and settlement of electricity exchanges through the Mindanao-Visayas interconnection.

The WESM Mindanao successfully went on commercial operations on Jan. 26, with a total registered capacity of 4,326 MW.

According to IEMOP, the registered Mindanao trading participants include 43 generation companies, 28 electric cooperatives, four private distribution utilities, 12 directly connected customers, and 10 metering services providers.

Similar to its function for the Luzon and Visayas grids, the WESM in Mindanao is seen as a venue for efficient scheduling, dispatch, and settlement of energy withdrawal and injections in the Mindanao grid.