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Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Panay-Boracay power project signed; ready by 2006
ILIGAN City - Efforts by the National Transmission Corp. (Transco) to secure power supply in the country’s
world-famous tourist destination of Boracay reached another milestone with the signing of the contract for the Panay-Boracay Interconnection Project last week.
The state firm signed the P149-million contract for the 69-kilovolt (kV) interconnection project with Japanese contractor, Kane-matsu Corp.
Principal signatories were Transco President Alan Ortiz and Kanematsu’s Manila Branch General Manager Toshio Satoh.
Orlando Sacay, chairman of the Boracay Foundation Inc., signed as a witness to manifest his group’s full support for the project.
“Upon project completion in March 2006, Boracay will not only have adequate, reliable and affordable electricity to meet its rapidly growing demand but we will also help preserve Boracay’s environment by bringing in more clean energy through our submarine cables,” Ortiz said.
An estimated 12 to 15 megawatts (MW) of mostly diesel generators in the island can already be disposed of once the new line with a carrying capacity of 40 MW is in place.
Capacity
The existing 13.8kV line has a maximum carrying capacity of only 8.5MW. The submarine cable is expected to have a lifespan of 30 years.
Ortiz also noted that with the implementation of the Panay-Boracay Interconnection Project, Boracay—which registered P8 billion in gross income in 2004 alone—will continue to prosper and be enjoyed by even more local and foreign tourists.
The project involves the laying of 1.6 kilometers of submarine cable connecting Akelco’s Caticlan substation in Panay and a 30 mega-volt-ampere substation in Balabag, Boracay Island.
Boracay’s peak demand is presently at about 10MW and is expected to increase to as high as 30MW in the next five years especially with more investors pouring their resources in the island. Four new hotels are under construction and are to be completed in 2007.
Boracay’s distribution utility, Akelco, has entered into a memorandum of agreement with Transco in March this year for the implementation of the Panay-Boracay Interconnection Project.
Agreement
The agreement stipulates the eventual transfer of the project components via a lease-purchase scheme to Akelco’s eventual ownership and control.
The Panay-Boracay Interconnection Project is the first phase of Transco’s Small Island Submarine Interconnection Development Program.
The project aims to establish a bi-directional electricity highway at the nation’s western corridor and eventually complete the Luzon-Visayas Transmission Loop.
As envisioned, the multi-phase transmission program will start with the Panay-Boracay project, then with Luzon-Mindoro, Mindoro-Semirara Island-Panay and finally, the Boracay-Tablas-Romblon transmission links. (Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro/Sunnex)
(November 8, 2005 issue)
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