The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has energized its Hermosa-San Jose 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission project, tagged as an Energy Project of National Significance, to help improve the Luzon transmission backbone.
The project, which spans Bulacan, Pampanga, and Bataan will help strengthen the transmission services and accommodate new bulk power generation in the Bataan area.
“The Hermosa-San Jose 500kV project is a major component in our planned Luzon 500kV transmission backbone. Despite many challenges, our teams worked 24/7 to complete this facility. With the energization of the line comes the improved transmission from generation sources towards the load center Metro Manila and nearby provinces,” NGCP said in a statement.
Apart from the transmission line, the project also includes the Hermosa 500 kV substation, which would allow better voltage regulation and power transfer from the existing 230 kV facility in the area.
Despite the approved project cost of Php 10.2 billion, NGCP said the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) only allowed a partial recovery of Php 19 million, around one percent of the actual project cost.
“Our priority has and will always be doing, what is best for the public. Financial considerations can take a back seat and be threshed out later,” former NGCP president and CEO, and now major stockholder Henry Sy said.
“We hope to correct the impression that the consumers are somehow shortchanged with how rates are computed. Our commitment has never wavered: we serve the public, and we work within the legal and regulatory framework of our concession and franchise,” Sy added.
