THE National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said Monday, June 25, that the planned interconnection of the Mindanao and Visayas power grids is set to open employment opportunities for host communities aside from strengthening the country's transmission network.

The NGCP said the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP), which will link Mindanao to the already connected Luzon-Visayas Grid, is currently in the works and is targeted for completion in December 2020.

Elizabeth Ladaga, NGCP corporate communications and public affairs lead specialist, said more than 200 jobs will be open for employment in the substation and transmission line portions of the project.

Ladaga said these job vacancies range from site civil and electrical engineers, timekeepers, safety officers and nurses, to laborers and skilled workers like carpenters, welders, masons, warehousemen, and electricians, among others. Local residents who are fit and qualified are given priority for the available positions.

She said the job opportunities will be made available in the areas of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and Lanao del Norte where the transmission line will traverse here in Mindanao aside from Cebu in the Visayas.

The MVIP will directly traverse 35 villages across the four provinces in Visayas and Mindanao.

NGCP was given the go-signal by the Energy Regulatory Commission in 2017 to proceed with the interconnection project, which was conceptualized by the government as early as in the 1980s but was shelved until NGCP took over the transmission business.

With the planned interconnection for a single, unified Philippine power grid, the country is expected to benefit from a safer and reliable grid with less power interruptions, and efficient use of energy resources nationwide.

"This is the largest transmission undertaking in the country's history. The benefits to the public will come not just when the facility is energized and begins to facilitate power exchange across the three main island groups, but will begin encouraging economic activity in remote areas as soon as construction begins this year," the NGCP said. (SunStar Philippines)