Senate to probe 33 delayed NGCP projects — Gatchalian

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said Wednesday that the Senate will look into the 33 delayed projects under the transmission development plan of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

He said the delay has been caused by “various reasons.”

“That’s what we want to go deep into. We want to hear valid reasons, not only reasons out of thin air,” Gatchalian, chair of the Senate committee on energy, said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.

“But what we want to analyze is how come the transmission development plan is not being carried out to its mandate, and we want to also look at the penalties that should be put forth if ever the transmission development plan is in fact delayed,” said the senator.

He explained that “a delay in the rollout in the transmission of these facilities will also delay a lot of the power plants that will go into the system.”

“Even though we have a lot of power plants that are going into the system, if we don’t have enough capacity in the transmission lines or the transmission lines will not be put up then we will have problems with electricity shortage,” he added.

According to Gatchalian, the Senate targets to start its probe into China’s 40 percent stake in the country’s power transmission line by the second or third week of December.

He also said the NGCP should allow the government to conduct a deeper inspection of its facilities amid concerns on national security that stems from China’s alleged access and control over the country’s power grid system.

NGCP is a private firm in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s state-owned power grid. It is a consortium of three corporations: the Monte Oro Grid Resources Corporation, Calaca High Power Corporation, and the State Grid Corporation of China.

Edited by MUF