The Department of Energy (DOE) is closely watching the construction of the multibillion peso Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP) of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), which is slated to be completed by 2020.
“We are monitoring NGCP because they gave their own deadline that by December 2020, the MVIP will be completed. We want a more reliable and a more secure transmission system. The interconnection project will provide us a sense of security,” Energy Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella was quoted in a BusinessMirror report.
According to the NGCP project regional transmission planning manager Christian Ereno, the project is currently in the procurement stage.
“In parallel, we are continuing to secure the endorsement of the local government unit and the environmental permits. Right-of-way acquisition is also being conducted so that as soon as construction starts, it will not be interrupted,” Ereno was quoted as saying.
The MVIP is NGCP’s recent project that seeks to connect the Mindanao grid to the Visayas grid, which will result in a single, unified national grid by 2020.
A unified national grid could result in more reliable power-transmission services as there will be a decrease in power interruptions nationwide thanks to the sharing of local energy resources.
It could also help increase investments, infrastructure development, and commerce in the country, the NGCP said.
The NGCP claimed it broke ground on the new cable terminal stations in November last year, which serves as a major component of the MVIP.
The location of the cable terminal stations will be in Santander, Cebu, and Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte. It will be the landing points of the two 92-kilometer submarine cables that will carry around 450 MW of power from the Visayas and Mindanao, and vice versa.
The NGCP is reportedly sure the MVIP will be completed next year.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) provisionally approved the MVIP in 2017. It was considered as the biggest power infrastructure in the country. The project costs around P52-billion and has an installation of 526 circuit-kilometers of overhead transmission lines, high-voltage direct current converter stations, as well as various upgrades to substations in both regions.
Aside from being the biggest power infrastructure in the country, the DOE also awarded the MVIP an Energy Project of National Significance certification in May 2018, which will streamline and expedite the needed documents for the construction and completion of the project.
The NGCP has constructed 2,472 circuit-kilometers of transmission lines and 10,134 megavolt amperes of substation capacity since 2009.
