INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — The mayor of San Simon town in this province on Monday, Oct. 24, lifted his closure order against the construction of a 230-kilovolt (kV) substation of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) after provincial officials found the documents in order.
Lawyer Cynthia Alabanza, NGCP assistant vice president for public relations, presented a land title showing that the transmission firm owned the site within a 10-hectare property it purchased inside the Global Asiana Business Park 2.
Mayor Abundio Punsalan Jr. said the land title presented during Monday’s hearing at the Capitol in this city convinced him that NGCP owned the property and that the site is within an industrial area.
Punsalan issued the closure order dated Sept. 9 despite an assertion by NGCP that its permits and clearances were complete.
Vice Gov. Lilia Pineda ordered a review of documents and processes to avert power shortages due to the delay in the construction of the substation.
Alabanza thanked Capitol officials for helping lift the closure order and continue the grid improvement.
Last week, the NGCP said the Department of Energy certified in 2019 the San Simon 230kV Substation Project as an Energy Project of National Significance.
It said the project aims to reinforce the reliability and stability of power transmission services in the Luzon grid by serving as an alternate source for customers connected to the Mexico Substation. INQ
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