NGCP readies P600 billion capex projects

MANILA, Philippines —  The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) is allocating over P600 billion for the development of more than 100 capital expenditure transmission projects in the pipeline.

“Moving forward, we want to spend over P600 billion,” NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza told reporters yesterday, noting that the projects are “ready for implementation.”

These projects consist of the Balaoan-Laoag 500-kilovolt transmission line, the Western Luzon 500-kV Backbone Stage 2, Tuy-Dasmariñas 500-kV line and the Batangas-Mindoro interconnection project across Luzon.

In Visayas, the NGCP intends to construct the Cebu-Lapu-Lapu 138-kV line, Amlan-Dumaguete 138-kV line, Luzon-Visayas HVDC bipolar operation, Calbayog-Allen 138-kV line, Nabas-Caticlan-Boracay 138-kV line, Barotac-Viejo-Unidos 230-kV line and Panay-Guimaras 138-kV interconnection.

The NGCP’s multi-year transmission development plan (TDP) also includes the Laguindingan 230-kV substation and the Kabacan 138-kV substation in Mindanao.

The TDP covering the period of 2024 to 2050 is designed to address the needs of the power grid, ensuring its reliability and stability to prevent transmission-related outages.

“Our TDP is a desktop plan that may or may not happen because things can change. It is a horizon planning that will materialize during the regulatory period (RP) process,” Alabanza said.

The NGCP is currently seeking regulatory approval of its maximum annual revenue for its fifth RP covering the years 2021 to 2025, the filing of which had run in parallel to the review of its 4RP.

NGCP president and CEO Anthony Almeda is hoping for an immediate resolution by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on its rate reset, emphasizing that the grid operator “needs it badly.”

“(We want it to be) fair for all and just follow the rules of the agreement. At the end of the day, we follow all the agreements,” he said.

Last week, the ERC issued the draft final determination for NGCP’s 4RP, lowering the latter’s total allowable revenue for the period 2016 to 2022.

Under the initial decision, the grid operator is only permitted to recover P310 billion out of the P552 billion it claimed to have spent during the period.

Newly-reinstated ERC chairperson and CEO Monalisa Dimalanta told The STAR that out of NGCP’s claims, “only P310 billion was substantiated” and that “included amounts spent for projects that are not yet completed.”

Asked for comment, Alabanza said the NGCP is still studying the draft FD and targeting to submit its reaction on the matter later this month.

“The NGCP is looking at computations and drafting our position on that. We still don’t have a statement, pending the result of our assessment,” she said.

The rate reset process sets the rules and parameters for the investment, operations and pricing mechanisms of the NGCP for a five-year period, unless extended by the ERC, to determine how much should be charged to consumers.