The Department of Energy said Wednesday the P52-billion Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project was expected to be completed by July this year.
DOE Undersecretary Rowena Guevara said MVIP was supposed to be partially completed by end-March but the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines was still undergoing testing and commissioning of the transmission line.
“What happened was when they started testing and commissioning, they started with 80 MW [megawatts], to be increased until we reach July with 425 MW back and forth,” Guevara said.
“Currently, they are testing one way, and they have to do the lines one by one. One line should be running going to Visayas or Mindanao. Then once both lines are running, they can do 225 MW half capacity back and forth. That will happen sometime in June, and then 450 MW by the time we reach July,” Guevara said.
The completion of the MVIP is seen to result in a more stable and secure supply of power in the country and will maximize the use of available local energy resources. MVIP will link the Mindanao grid to the Visayas grid via a high-voltage direct current system with a 450-MW initial capacity.