National Grid Corp. of the Philippines said Thursday it is on track to completing the P52-billion Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project by the end of the year.
It said it finished several components of the project, including the Santander and Dapitan Cable Terminal Stations, the 350-kiloVolt submarine cable and the Lala-Aurora 138-kV transmission line.
The MVIP will link the Mindanao grid to the Visayas grid through a high voltage direct current system with a 450-megawatt initial capacity.
“NGCP is happy to report that these critical MVIP components are now complete and ready for energization. We hope this would finish on time, but factors beyond our control required an adjustment to our project timeline. We are working double-time to complete the overhead transmission line portions and advance the project to its commissioning stage to connect the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao grids,” the company said.
NGCP said it completed the construction of the cable terminal stations in Santander, Cebu and Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte and installed two 92-km 350kV high voltage direct current power cables and two 92-km fiber optic cables.
It conducted site acceptance tests at the Dapitan and Santander CTS to ensure the facilities meet requirements.
Work on the submarine cable component started in November 2018 and was originally slated to be completed in June 2021.
NGCP said the restriction on the entry of foreign experts, work suspension and manpower reduction at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to significant delays in the project’s execution.
The damage to submarine cable 1 caused by a third-party vessel also delayed construction activities, with repairs completed only in November 2021.
NGCP successfully energized the Lala-Aurora 138kV Transmission Line in February to improve the reliability of power transmission services between Lanao del Norte and provinces in the Zamboanga Peninsula.
“NGCP continues to appeal for the support of the local and national government to push this into fruition. Delays in local government permitting, and right-of-way issues from slow judicial processes and unsupportive landowners continue to delay our efforts,” NGCP said.
