ERC clears 4 electricity grid projects worth P5B
Four proposed projects of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) with total investments reaching about P5 billion have secured the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
According to a decision posted on the ERC’s website, one of the projects authorized to proceed was the P1.94-billion Granada 230 kilovolt (kV) substation project.
The planned construction of the new substation was meant to address the overloading of power transformers in the Bacolod substation, the ERC said. This would also help resolve power cutback and avoid service interruptions in Negros Occidental.
The grid operator’s Sumangga 138 kV substation project also received the ERC’s consent. Projected cost is P1.36 billion.
The ERC said the Sumangga project was designed to fix overloading of the Ormoc-Baybay 69 kV line, as well as prevent outages.
The La Carlota 138 kV substation project likewise gained the go-signal of the regulator. The P1.13-billion development seeks to address overloading of the Bacolod-San Enrique 69 kV line and boost power supply reliability in Negros Occidental province.
The last proposed project is the Nagsaag-Tumana 69 kV transmission line, a new facility meant to get power load from the Pangasinan III Electric Cooperatives, Inc.
“[It] aims to provide additional transmission capacity to cater to the growing power demand in Eastern Pangasinan and to address the overloading of the Nagsaag-Umingan 69 kV line,” the ERC said.
Last year, the ERC approved about P101.81 billion worth of power investments. It said earlier that 56 capital expenditure (capex) cases filed by the NGCP, distribution utilities and electric cooperatives had been completed, which could benefit over 185,000 consumers across the grid network.
Players in the energy sector need to secure the commission’s approval for any infrastructure developments or improvements, as one of ERC’s tasks is to calculate and approve how much could be recovered from consumers.
