MANILA -A crucial transmission project that will finally connect Mindoro Island to the Luzon grid is now in the works after National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) secured the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) approval.
Cynthia Alabanza, spokesperson for the NGCP, told reporters the Batangas-Mindoro Interconnection Project was approved in February.
“We updated [our] application in 2021 since conditions are different now … We are pursuing it already,” Alabanza said at a press conference on Friday.
The NGCP, a private firm operating and developing the government-owned transmission grid, unveiled plans in 2011 to connect Mindoro to the main grid to improve supply in the island.
The grid operator applied for provisional approval that same year, saying that the project was important in solving frequent power interruptions triggered by “outdated power facilities” in the island.
Fewer power outages
Since it is not connected to the national grid, Mindoro sources its power mostly from small power utilities group power plants operated by National Power Corp.
Last month, Occidental Mindoro province was placed under a state of calamity due to daily 20-hour power outages.
Under the NGCP proposal, Mindoro will be connected to the Luzon grid through the planned Pinamucan 230-kilovolt Substation in Batangas province.
Calapan City, meanwhile, will serve as the interconnection point in Mindoro. INQ
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