NGCP targets P23.5-B transmission projects for completion by yearend
The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines aims to complete six transmission projects worth about P23.5 billion by the end of 2026. The grid operator has already finished five projects valued at P7.18 billion, and the new projects are intended to improve transmission reliability amid power supply co
The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) is targeting the completion of six transmission projects worth about P23.5 billion by yearend as the grid operator works to address transmission reliability amid power supply constraints.
At a briefing on Thursday, NGCP Assistant Vice-President Cynthia P. Alabanza said the company had already completed five transmission projects worth a combined P7.18 billion. Among the completed projects is the P744.22-million Nagsaag-Tumana 69-kilovolt (kV) Transmission Line Project in Luzon.
In the Visayas, NGCP completed the P1.04-billion Visayas Substation Reliability Project and the P121.50-million Visayas 69-kV Transmission Line Upgrading Project. In Mindanao, it completed the P2.46-billion Tacurong-Kalamansig 69-kV Transmission Line Project and the P2.82-billion Laguindingan 230-kV Substation.
The six projects targeted for completion by yearend include the P4.52-billion North Luzon Substation Upgrading Project 1 and the P3.53-billion Tuguegarao-Lal-lo (Magapit) 230-kV Transmission Line in Luzon. In the Visayas, these include the P7.42-billion Nabas-Caticlan-Boracay Transmission Line Project and the P3.55-billion Panay-Guimaras 138-kV Interconnection Project.
In Mindanao, NGCP is targeting the completion of the P3.66-billion Mindanao Substation Expansion 4 Project and the P872.5-million Nasipit Substation Bus-in Project. Ms. Alabanza said the projects are intended to improve the reliability of the country’s transmission system, but added that the network can only deliver electricity that has been generated.
“If there is no power to deliver, even if you have a wide, good, and reliable system, you will still have problems. So it will help as long as we have sufficient supply,” she said. NGCP is the country’s sole grid operator and manages the national transmission system. It was granted a 25-year concession in 2007 to operate and maintain the grid, with operations starting in 2009.
Electricity consumers may see lower transmission charges in their power bills this month after NGCP’s overall transmission rate declined due mainly to lower ancillary services charges. NGCP Business and Regulatory Development Head Julius Ryan Datingaling said the overall transmission rate fell by 13.3% to P1.5225 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for August supply billing from the previous month.
Ancillary services charges, which cover power reserves used to maintain grid reliability, declined by 22.42% month on month to P0.8061 per kWh. Transmission wheeling rates, meanwhile, rose by 4.02% month on month to P0.5655 per kWh. The charge covers the delivery of electricity from power generators through the transmission network to distribution utilities.
