The Energy Regulatory Commission approved transmission operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines’ P20.653-billion Balaoan Laoag 500-kilovolt transmission line.
The project forms part of NGCP’s capital expenditure project for Visayas and Mindanao (Group 3) from 2020-2025 and beyond.
The ERC said it reviewed NGCP’s application on the Balaoan-Laoag 500 kV transmission line, one of the 15 proposed projects that will redound to the benefit of the electricity consumers in terms of continuous, reliable and efficient power supply as mandated by Section 2 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.
“After careful deliberation, the commission resolved to approve NGCP’s proposed Balaoan Laoag 500 kV transmission line project in the instant application amounting to P20,653,075, 314.08, subject to optimization based on its actual use and verified expenses during the reset process for the subsequent regulatory period, following the procedures stated in the rules in setting the transmission wheeling rates, as amended and other relevant issuances of the commission,” the ERC said.
The project aims to accommodate the capacities of the wind farm and solar PV projects in Ilocos Norte province, being identified as a renewable energy zone.
The estimated project implementation period is 79 months.
NGCP said last month it fully completed the P19.76 billion 230-kV Cebu-Bohol Interconnection, aimed at addressing the growing power demand in Bohol.
The project will also provide more resiliency for the Bohol grid, improving the operational flexibility of the Cebu transmission system.
“The Cebu-Bohol Interconnection Project will play a crucial role in improving transmission services and grid stability in Central Visayas. It will also help improve the transmission highway in Cebu, the load center of Visayas, with a new line to transmit power in and out of the province,” NGCP said.
The CBIP, with Line 1 energized on July 16, 2024 and Line 2 on Sept. 27, 2024 with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts, is a new transmission facility that involves connections in Argao, Cebu and Maribojoc, Bohol via 54.6 circuit-kilometers of submarine cables crossing the Bohol Strait and 97.6 circuit-kilometers of transmission lines comprised of 179 overhead towers from Argao to the Dumanjug Substation in Cebu, and from Maribojoc to the Corella Substation in Bohol.
The line will help provide N-1 contingency in the province in the event of an outage of the existing Leyte-Bohol line, NGCP said.
