NGCP seeks to recover ₧113.28 million
BY LENIE LECTURA – NOVEMBER 1, 2021
from Business Mirror
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is asking regulators to recover P113.28 million which it spent for the repair, restoration and rehabilitation of transmission assets and facilities damaged by typhoons last year.
NGCP said the amount was used to repair facilities in areas struck by Typhoons Quinta and Rolly in Luzon, and Typhoon Vicky in Mindanao.
The amount consists of P77,778,759.26 in Force Majeure Events (FME) capital expenditures (capex), operational expenses (opex) and P35,501,992.46 in net fixed asset value of the transmission facilities.
If approved, additional network charges for Luzon and Mindanao will be collected starting January 2022 until December 2025, or until such time that the amounts incurred are fully recovered.
In particular, NGCP proposed to collect P0.0012 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in 2022, P0.0001 per kWh in 2023, P0.0002 per kWh in 2024 and P0.0002 per kWh in 2025 in Luzon.
For Mindanao, collection will amount to P0.0001 per kWh every year during the four-year period.
“The rehabilitation of these assets damaged by the Force Majeure Events [FME] required significant capital infusion, the recovery of which should be allowed immediately in order to avoid any financial strain in the operation of NGCP and to allow the continuous provision of transmission services to the grid customers,” the company told the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
The timely implementation of the force majeure pass-through amounts will allow an even spread of the increases in tariffs from the initial implementation of the recovery of the cost, it added.
NGCP said some of its transmission lines were toppled, and various telecom equipment were also damaged due to the intensity of Typhoon Rolly, thus affecting the operations of the Luzon System Operations and the delivery of transmission assets in the affected areas.
Typhoon Vicky, meanwhile, caused a landslide that damaged NGCP’s Bislig substation in Mindanao.
NGCP said it immediately started the repair to fully restore transmission service to its customers.
