A PRIVATE sector group has been pushing for a partnership for the power interconnection between Palawan and Sabah, the Department of Energy (DOE) said.

This was discussed during a recent Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Power and Energy Cluster meeting.

DOE Assistant Secretary Leonido Pulido III, in behalf of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, chaired the discussions of the Power and Energy Infrastructure Cluster.

According to Pulido, the key output of the cluster meeting is the formulation of the nine-year ‎‎‎(2017-2025) Power and Energy Infrastructure Cluster (PEIC) Roadmap for the different sub-sectors such as for Power Interconnection, Renewable Energy (RE), Rural Electrification and Sub-Regional Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EE&C) rolling pipeline project as input to the final BIMP-EAGA Vision ‎‎‎2017-2025 (BEV2025).

On the power infrastructure connectivity of the Philippines to the sub-region, the BIMP-EAGA Business Council (BEBC) presented to the Philippine delegates the proposed Sabah to Palawan Interconnection project, DOE said.

The BEBC, a private sector group, initiated the partnership with the Provincial Government of Palawan aiming to deliver electric power from Sabah to Palawan.

During the meeting, the BEBC informed the participants that the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding may take place by April 2017 and when this will be realized, "it will provide the needed capacity addition to the country,” Pulido said. (SDR/SunStar Philippines)