The Quezon City Government has cleared the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) with its right-of-way (ROW) concerns, allowing the agency to move forward with its plans to upgrade existing transmission lines traversing Metro Manila load center.
NGCP said it’s proceeding with the San-Jose Quezon 230 kiloVolt (kV) transmission line upgrading project after the the ROW corridor of seven transmission tower sites located in Barangays Baesa and Sangandaan have been cleared by the local government unit.
“Our efforts are now focused on expediting the project’s completion and seeing a more reliable transmission of power in the country’s biggest load center,” NGCP said.
Completion of the project is targeted to be by end of the year.
The grid operator said the San Jose-Quezon 230kV Line 3 project is a critical project which will widen the power corridor into Metro Manila, allowing power plants to feed the Luzon load center.
It will also relieve the existing transmission line, prevent overloading, and will ensure that NGCP maintains the line’s N-1 contingency. N-1 refers to the redundancy standards in the grid system which will allow the transmission grid to withstand major power disturbances.
The project also involves the expansion of NGCP’s San Jose Quezon Substations, which are crucial facilities that serve the load requirements of Metro Manila.
The agreement between NGCP and the Quezon City government includes the relocation of informal settlers living underneath the San Jose-Quezon transmission line in the two barangays and the clearance of the tower sites of dangerous improvements, helping NGCP secure the ROW clearances of its tower sites within the city.
Respecting the ROW corridor of transmission lines and facilities will prevent unnecessary power interruptions, ensure swifter maintenance activities, and will avert potential loss of life and property.
“We’re hoping that other LGUs follow soon. The huge bulk of urban ROW issues is in northern Metro Manila,” it said.
NGCP is a Filipino-led, privately owned company in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s power grid, led by majority shareholders Henry Sy Jr. and Robert Coyiuto Jr.