MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. called on the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) to complete its deliverables, particularly the vital Cebu-Negros-Panay interconnections.
The President, during his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday afternoon, said his vision of a complete electrification of the Philippines is now “within reach” but there are delays on the part of NGCP.
“The 68 grid connections are much delayed, according to the ERC’s (Energy Regulatory Commission’s) count,” said Marcos, adding that they are conducting a performance review of private concessionaire NGCP.
“We look to NGCP to complete all of the deliverables, starting with the vital Mindanao-Visayas and Cebu-Negros-Panay interconnections,” the President said.
The NGCP was tasked to finish the Cebu-Negros-Panay backbone project and fast-track the signing of an ancillary service procurement agreement to manage power fluctuations.
The project involves linking Negros and Cebu by laying an overhead line from the cities of Bacolod to San Carlos and Toledo through a submarine cable.
Earlier this year, the Panay, Guimaras and Negros experienced 12-hour daily power outages, prompting Marcos to task the NGCP to immediately address the power crisis in parts of the Visayas.
The President then instructed the NGCP to review the reliability of each Visayas sub-grid and ”synchronize the protection relays of transmission, generation and distribution to prevent blackouts.”
Responding to Marcos’ call during his SONA, the NGCP said they will expedite the full completion of the Stage 3 of the Cebu-Negros-Panay project.
“The NGCP pulls out all stops to expedite the full completion of the Stage 3 of the Cebu-Negros-Panay project, which was partially energized earlier this year,” the NGCP said last night.
It added: “We continue to call on all LGUs (local government units) to provide the necessary support with the expeditious approval of all relevant permits and assistance with issues on right of way which continue to hinder the seamless implementation of these projects.”/PN
