PRE-CONSTRUCTION activities for the Visayas-Mindanao Interconnection Project has already begun, an official of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said.
Mae Roselle Curiano, NGCP North-Central Midanao corporate affairs and public relations department officer, said during the weekly Kapehan sa Dabaw press conference at SM City Davao that these activities include the ancillary survey, securing of needed permits, right-of-way (ROW) valuation, and processing of other necessary documents.
On July 11, 2017, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) granted provisional authority to NGCP to implement the interconnection project.
Curiano said a submarine cable, approximately 92 kilometers, will be laid down to connect Santander, Cebu and Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte.
The ERC, in a statement, also said converter stations will be located in Sibonga, Cebu and Aurora, Zamboanga del Sur, respectively.
She said the project is targeted to be completed by 2020 and has an estimated cost of P52 million. The project is fully funded by the NGCP.
"If we are interconnected, this will help lessen the outages not only in Mindanao but also nationwide. This will enable the maximize use of energy sources and ensure power sharing resources across the country," Curiano said.
Curiano said NGCP will also construct 350-kv overhead transmission lines from Zamboanga del Norte to Lanao del Norte.
However, ERC said in a statement that the green light for NGCP’s Visayas-Mindanao Interconnection Project comes with some conditions: the proposed project shall be subject to optimization based on its actual use and/or implementation during the reset process for the next regulatory period; NGCP is required to conduct competitive bidding for the purchase of major materials in the implementation of the project; and NGCP’s payment of the permit fee.