NGCP power lines (File photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has energized the Hermosa-San Jose (HSJ) 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission line project in a bid to strengthen the backbone of power transmission in Luzon.
According to NGCP, the project, activated on May 27, will stabilize and boost the transmission service from Bulacan, Pampanga, to Bataan. It will also accommodate new bulk power generation entry from the Bataan area.
“The Hermosa-San Jose 500kV project is a major component in our planned Luzon 500kV transmission backbone. Despite many challenges, our teams worked 24/7 to complete this facility. With the energization of the line comes improved transmission from generation sources towards the load center Metro Manila and nearby provinces,” said NGCP in a statement issued on Sunday.
Aside from the transmission line from Bulacan to Bataan, the firm said the project also covers the establishment of the Hermosa-San Jose substation, which will help in voltage regulation and power transfer from the existing 230kV facilities in the area.
The project, amounting to P10.2 billion, was given provisional approval by the Energy Regulatory Commission. Still, it only allowed the firm to recover P19.9 million, or lower than 1 percent of the project cost.
“Our priority has and will always be doing what is best for the public. Financial considerations can take a back seat and be threshed out later,” said Henry Sy, Jr., a major stockholder, and the company’s former president.
“We hope to correct the impression that the consumers are somehow shortchanged with how rates are computed. Our commitment has never wavered: we serve the public and work within the legal and regulatory framework of our concession and franchise,” Sy added.
The NGCP said it would complete other projects in Visayas and Mindanao in the following months.
The HSJ transmission line project was initially set for completion in 2019, which is expected to ease congestion in the Bataan Corridor with its capacity to accommodate 4,700 megawatts.
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