The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has cleared the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) to spend P1.2 billion on seven capital expenditure (capex) projects this year.
Originally, NGCP filed for the approval of 38 capex projects “intended to address the transmission system’s technical deficiencies” amounting to P21.21 billion.
The ERC only approved seven. It also ordered the NGCP to conduct competitive bidding for buying the major materials needed in the projects, as well as to pay a P8.39 million permit fee.
Five of the seven projects are new: the Bataan 230-kilovolt (kV) Grid Reinforcement Project worth P359.88 million; the Tiwi Substation Upgrading Project for P200.98 million; the Naga Substation Upgrading Project worth P69.69 miillion; the Clark-Mabiga 69-kV Transmission Line Project worth P58.28 million; and the Hermosa-San Jose 500-kV Transmission Line Project for an estimated P19.96 million.
P326.8 million has been cleared to spend on metering capex projects that required the expansion, rehabilitation, upgrade, relocation and replacement programs of the NGCP.
The ERC recommended spending P82.99 million on security infrastructure, which covers the Electronic Security Access Door System, the installation of security surveillance Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) corporate-wide, and installation of security radio communication system and construction of security offices.
