NGCP to push through with interconnection plan

MANILA, Philippines—National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), operator of the national transmission network, has sought the approval of the government for the conduct of a feasibility study for the Leyte Mindanao Interconnection Project, signifying its intent to push through with the multibillion-peso project.

NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza said Tuesday the company had already filed with the Energy Regulatory Commission an application for authority to include the conduct of the feasibility study in NGCP’s capital expenditure for the third regulatory period (2012 to 2015).

Alabanza said it would take about a year for NGCP to complete the feasibility study, which was estimated to cost some P91.4 million.

Including the conduct of the study, the LMIP project, which was seen costing at least P18 billion, may take seven years to complete.

According to Alabanza, the LMIP project will be economically viable only if there is a surplus of power in either Mindanao or Visayas, which is the scenario that NGCP is anticipating.

Once the project is completed, the Leyte-Mindanao interconnection will allow the export of available power from Leyte to Mindanao and vice-versa. This project was also envisioned to jumpstart the wholesale electricity spot market for Mindanao.

More importantly, it will complete the loop that would connect all the three main grids in the country. Once this is achieved, the Philippines can already move to becoming part of the much larger Asean grid.