Philippines: TransCo looking to shoulder Vis-Min grid interconnection

Philippines: TransCo looking to shoulder Vis-Min grid interconnection

THE NATIONAL TRANSMISSION CORP. (TRANSCO) IS LOOKING AT SHOULDERING THE COST
TO BUILD THE VISAYAS-MINDANAO GRID CONNECTION TO AVOID PASSING THE BURDEN TO
CONSUMERS.

TransCo president and CEO Melvin Matibag said they are studying if they can
pay for the P52-billion cost of the interconnection project.

"I want to look for a way that the cost of the connection should not be
passed on to consumers," Matibag said.

"Apparently, the ballpark figure is around P52 billion so that will be an
additional cost to the consumer," he added.

The state-run firm is considering putting the Visayas-Mindanao
interconnection project under its General Appropriations Act.

"I'm having some representation from our Congress, I'm thinking if it can be
included into the GAA. But it's not yet final since I'm just thinking of
ways so consumers will no longer bear the cost of that interconnection," he
said.

Otherwise, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) will pay for
the project and recover the cost of the transmission projects from
consumers, Matibag said.

NGCP has a 25-year concession to operate the country's transmission network
after taking over the management from TransCo in 2008.

NGCP recently completed the hydrographic survey to determine a possible
location for the grid interconnection.

Only the Luzon and Visayas grids are interconnected, allowing both islands
to source power from each other's grid during a supply shortfall.

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Link to Original Article:
http://powerphilippines.com/2017/03/03/transco-looking-shoulder-vis-min-grid
-interconnection/

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com