NGCP set to pursue Palawan-Mindoro interconnection project

Amid electricity supply problems in Puerto Princesa City, National Grid Corp. of the Philippines said it was seeking the Energy Regulatory Commission’s green light to linkup the islands of Palawan and Mindoro via a P6.4-billion subsea transmission cable.

NGCP said in a statement that Stage 1 of its Palawan-Mindoro Interconnection Project would pave the way for the interconnection of Palawan to the main grid in Luzon via Mindoro.

The grid operator said the project was intended to further study the interconnection of Palawan to Mindoro through submarine cable and establish a transmission backbone designed to serve long-term power needs in the area.

“NGCP is proposing to implement the PMIP to provide adequate, reliable and affordable power supply in Palawan,” it said.

“With the increasing demand for power in the island due to tourism and economic development, it is about time to pursue this interconnection to the main grid which will provide Palawan with more reliable power supply and access to cheaper alternative sources of power in the main Luzon grid,” NGCP added.

The second component of the project is the installation of the 239-kilovolt (kV) Calapan-San Jose Transmission Line Backbone and 230-kV San Jose Substation in Occidental Mindoro.

NGCP said that if a viable route for the project would be identified upon completion of the hydrographic survey, and the 230kV backbone component was completed, it would proceed to Stage 2 of the project, which would be the actual implementation of the Palawan-Mindoro interconnection through submarine cable.

“Considering that the interconnection of Palawan to Mindoro will entail the development of very long transmission facilities, it is very important that these preconstruction activities be started as early as possible,” the company said.

“This interconnection project will greatly benefit not just the island of Palawan, but will also prepare the entire Philippine grid for integration to the proposed Asean Power Grid, promoting power sharing and optimization of generation capacity within the region,” it added. —RONNEL W. DOMINGO