A SECOND high-capacity transmission route is being built to Mactan Island, giving the grid an alternative path for electricity if the island’s existing underground cable fails.
The Cebu-Lapu-Lapu Interconnection Project is designed to reduce Mactan’s reliance on its existing underground transmission connection and provide another source of power to the island.
The need of backup power link
Mactan Island currently receives its power supply through an underground cable connected to a substation in Talamban on mainland Cebu.
This creates a vulnerability in the transmission system. If the existing cable is damaged or becomes unavailable because of an operational failure, the island’s power supply could be disrupted.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is addressing that vulnerability through the Cebu-Lapu-Lapu 230-kilovolt Interconnection Project.
Michael Ortega Ligalig, Government Relations and Regional Affairs lead specialist for NGCP District 2 Cebu-Bohol Area, said the project is intended to strengthen the reliability of Mactan’s power supply.
“This project is our way to strengthen and ensure that our Mactan Island has a reliable power supply. Supposing our Mactan Island relies on an underground cable, the NGCP ensured that we have a submarine cable and an overhead transmission line so that our power supply to Mactan Island will be reliable,” Ligalig said.
NGCP project
The project will establish an additional transmission route between mainland Cebu and Mactan Island using a combination of a submarine cable and an overhead transmission line.
The submarine portion will cross the waters between mainland Cebu and Mactan. From the coastal section, the connection transitions to an overhead transmission line supported by steel towers.
The overhead section passes through parts of Mandaue City, including Barangay Tabok, before connecting to the Mactan side of the transmission system.
In simple terms, the project creates another path for electricity to reach Mactan instead of relying solely on the existing underground cable.
Project hurdles
Construction of the overhead transmission facilities is already well advanced, with most of the steel towers erected along the route.
However, one tower in Barangay Tabok remains to be built.
The project also faces right-of-way challenges because portions of the route pass through areas with existing residential structures.
“There are portions in Tabok that will really be traversed by the project,” Ligalig explained.
“There are towers built by NGCP for this overhead transmission line, and there are certain areas where they will be constructed. In Tabok, there is one remaining tower that still needs to be built,” he added.