NGCP says ‘proper grid planning’ with DOE needed to prevent project delays
NGCP. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) emphasized the importance of “proper grid planning” in collaboration with the Department of Energy (DOE) to avoid delays in projects.
During a Senate committee on energy hearing, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) records revealed that the NGCP has 72 delayed projects, including six of national significance.
When asked what the corporation needs to finish its projects on time, NGCP Assistant Vice President and spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza emphasized “proper grid planning.”
“What NGCP has been advocating for the last three [or] four years [is that] you have to plan the transmission [or] the power system not in isolation because we’re just part of a handover from generation to NGCP transmission to distribution,” Alabanza explained in an interview with ANC.
She noted that the DOE is in charge of the planning, even pointing out that the was only recently that the NGCP became a part of the process.
“We are grateful that they are listening to us now, but DOE Undersecretary [Raphael] Lotilla, has been in place for what? 10-11 months and powerplant projects are not done in that quick a time,” said Alabanza.
“What I’m trying to say is when you plan a system, you can’t plan in isolation, you have to look at all the items connected to it, and if you want to make sure it works well, all portions of that system must be coordinated,” she added.
However, when asked if this means the DOE was negligent in coordinating with the NGCP, Alabanza said it is not black and white.
“I’m not saying that. It’s not a yes or no here. It’s a work in progress, it’s a collaboration, it’s coordination, and there is coordination and collaboration happening but we’re trying to say that we see it from a different perspective and due consideration has to be given through other parts of the grid,” said the NGCP official.
“That’s the reality. I don’t want to speculate on motives. These are the realities,” she added.
In the same interview, Alabanza reiterated that the other main causes for the project delays were the COVID-19 pandemic and right-of-way concerns.
READ: Right-of-way issue tops NGCP concerns
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian earlier sought an inquiry into delays in NGCP projects. In filing a resolution, the legislator noted that the delay “causes a multi-layered impact” as the ERC already declared that some of the NGCP’s delayed projects could have prevented outages in several areas across the country.
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