Regulator holds off say on P20.3B worth of NGCP projects
Six projects of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), with aggregate investment estimated to reach P20.33 billion, are facing delays in securing approval from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
Based on a document from the ERC, NGCP was seeking to secure provisional authority to pursue the projects.
However, the regulator decided to defer its decision on the case “pending issues that needed to be addressed.”
ERC chair and chief executive officer Monalisa Dimalanta said the resolution was only deferred “because the commission still had questions for our technical team to work on.”
“I think our team was given two weeks to get back to us and then we schedule it again in a commission meeting after that,” she told reporters in a message Tuesday.
According to a separate document, one of the projects on the list is the Concepcion-Sta. Ignacia 69 kilovolt (kV) transmission line project.
NGCP said the proposed facility, with a project cost of nearly P1 billion, is designed to address the overloading of the Concepcion-Camiling 69 kV transmission line.
This is also expected to add a boost in transmission capacity, as the project can cater to the loads of Tarlac 1 Electric Cooperative in Sta. Ignacia, Camiling, Mayantoc, Paniqui, Moncada and Anao.
The San Simon 230 kV substation project also aims to beef up transmission capacity in Pampanga amid rising demand from steel mills and industries that are directly connected to the grid. The investment for this one is pegged at P4.41 billion.
Given the anticipated load growth in the Ilocos region, the NGCP was also looking at spending P1.64 billion to build the Pinili 230 kV substation project.
The P6.35-billion Laray 230 kV substation project, meanwhile, seeks to provide a new gas-insulated switchgear substation in Laray and prevent the overloading of the Quiot and Cebu substations.
The Calbayog-Allen transmission line project, on the other hand, aims to enhance the reliability of power delivery in Northern Samar. NGCP plans to spend P3.31 billion for this new facility.
Lastly, the P3.6 billion Maco-Mati 138 kV transmission line project is designed to provide a grid connection point for Davao Oriental Electric Cooperative.
