NGCP expects full transfer capacity for Min-Vis interconnection project this year

Transmission firm National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) expressed confidence that the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP) will reach its full transfer capacity before the end of the year, Jonathan Andal reported Wednesday on “24 Oras.”

MVIP links the Mindanao power grid to the Visayas grid—connecting the three major electricity grids and allowing power supply sharing among them. It was energized in May.

“’Pag may kakulangan ng suplay sa isang panig ng grid, halimbawa sa Visayas, dahil sa mga planned outages… ‘yung excess power ng Mindanao, makakapag-supply sa Visayas,” said NGCP Transmission Planning Department Head Redi Allan Remoroza.

(If there’s a supply shortage on one side of the grid, for example in Visayas, then the excess supply from Mindanao can make up for it.)

To date, the NGCP said the MVIP has a transfer capacity of 112.5 megawatts (MW). It will double by the end of the month and may reach a full capacity of 450 MW by the end of 2023.

“We’re very confident matatapos ‘yan this year yung full capacity at 450. May mga challenges lang sa certain areas mostly at the Cebu side,” said NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabaza.

(We’re very confident the transfer capacity of 450 will be reached this year. There are just some challenges in certain areas, mostly in Cebu.)

The MVIP project was first planned in 1984 but was delayed for decades, according to Alabaza.

“Unfortunately, it was postponed for many decades, and under the NGCP concession agreement we were able to bring this long standing dream into realization,” she added.

Meanwhile, the NGCP is also planning to connect the Mindoro electricity grid to prevent frequent power outages.

“Gusto namin ikonekta, 2011 pa lang, nag-apply na kami sa ERC [Energy Regulatory Commission] para makonekta. Bakit? Kasi kailangan namin diyan dumaan sa Mindoro for our plants papunta sa Palawan and also sa Panay eventually, kasi gusto namin may looping,” said Alabaza.

(We wanted to connect it as early as 2011. We applied at the ERC. Why? Because we need to pass Mindoro to go to our Palawan and Panay plants. We want them to loop eventually.)

“Unfortunately, hindi siya naaksyunan, iyang application na iyan. What we did, in 2021, ibang-iba na yung landscape ng Batangas, ibang-iba na yung landscape ng Luzon, we had to withdraw the application and re-apply kasi nagbago na yung profile, the demand, the supply, nagbago na,” she said.

(Unfortunately, it was left unactioned. We had to withdraw it in 2021 and re-apply because the profile had changed.) — Sundy Locus/BM, GMA Integrated News