Marcos energizes new NGCP power line

FILE PHOTO President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. Photo from Presidential Communications Office

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. led the inauguration and energization of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines’ (NGCP) 500-kilovolt transmission line that can deliver 8,000 megawatts of electricity from power plants in Bataan and Zambales.

“This transmission project attests to the transformative power of collaboration between the public and the private sectors to be able to attain a stable, reliable, and resilient power supply for the country,” he said.

Mr. Marcos added: “It will also help in the administration’s thrust to transition to renewable energy to mitigate the impact of geopolitical uncertainties and of course, the effects of climate change.”

READ: Marcos urges NGCP to complete energy projects on time

The Chief Executive also ordered the Department of Energy (DOE) and NGCP to finish 70 other transmission line projects in the pipeline.

“I direct the DOE and the NGCP to complete the almost 70 transmission projects on time … particularly the Batangas-Mindoro Interconnection Project and the Northern Luzon 230-kiloVolt Loop,” he said.

The transmission line took seven years to complete at an approved cost of P20.94 billion, but it will also connect with other projects, such as the Battery Energy Storage System in Limay and the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge.

It will also serve as a vital corridor for the 5,080 MW and the additional 2,554 MW of committed power generation projects in Bataan and Zambales.

The project involves over 275.6 circuit kilometers of overhead lines supported by nearly 395 towers and two new substations.

Powering 59M homes

Anthony Almeda, president of NGCP, assured power consumers in the Luzon grid of a “secure and stabilized” line that can handle power from more generation plans.

“This critical backbone provides a new high-voltage link capable of transmitting a total of 8,000 MW of power from power plants in Bataan and Zambales,” Almeda said.

“The line is ready to serve and benefit the 59 million households and other power consumers in Luzon,” he added.

However, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the total number of households in the entire country reached only 26 million and may increase by around three million in next year’s national survey.

Nonetheless, the NGCP assured consumers that the energization of the new line should preclude power outages similar to those in February on Panay Island and in Southern Luzon last April.

Cynthia Alabanza, spokesperson for the NGCP, said that as long as power plants do not trip, the grid operator has a boosted network of transmission lines to deliver electricity, which can avoid widespread outages.

READ: NGCP: 15-hour total power interruption in Bohol on August 20