NGCP expects stable power supply this year

By Alena Mae S. Flores – June 14, 2023, 6:30 pm
from manilastandard.net

Transmission operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines said Wednesday it expects power supply to remain stable for the rest of the year, barring any unforeseen technical glitches.

“Outlook base case, meaning assuming no issues, we should be clean and clear…All other things being equal, we don’t see any more alerts for the year because of lower demand, and it’s colder,” NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Perez-Alabanza said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.

Alabanza said while she could not make assurances because of some unplanned occurrences, she remains “hopeful and positive” that there will be no supply issues in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Alabanza said the P52-billion Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection project would deliver the full 450-megawatt capacity by the third quarter.

“Right now transfer capacity is at 122.5 MW. We’re hoping to double that before the end of the month to 225 MW. We’re hoping to bring that up to 225 by the end of the month and by the third quarter it will be at full capacity,” she said.

NGCP energized the MVIP on April 30, a landmark undertaking connecting the power grids of Visayas and Mindanao.

The MVIP will provide a more reliable and sustainable transmission service and promote energy resource sharing.

“We’re very confident it will be finished this year and deliver the full capacity of 450 MW. We will make sure it will be completed by third quarter,” Alabanza said.

NGCP assistant vice president Redi Remoroza said that aside from MVIP, other projects are expected to be operational this year.

These include critical projects such as the Hermosa-San Jose 500kV Transmission Line Project and Cebu-Negros-Panay Stage 3 Backbone Project.

NGCP has so far invested P300 billion since 2009 in a total of 3,729 circuit-kilometers of transmission lines, 28 new substations and an additional 31,190MVA of transformer capacity.