Transmission operator National Grid Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) is inching closer to unifying the Philippine grid by the end of the year after completing several components of the P52 billion Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP).
NGCP announced Thursday it had completed the Santander and Dapitan Cable terminal stations, the 350kiloVolt (kV) submarine cable, and the Lala-Aurora 138kV transmission line.
“NGCP is happy to report that these critical MVIP components are now complete and ready for energization. We hoped 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.
The MVIP will link the Mindanao grid to the Visayas grid via an HVDC system with a 450-megawatt initial capacity.
NGCP completed the construction of the Cable Terminal Stations (CTS) in Santander, Cebu, and Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte, as well as the installation of two (2) 92-km 350kV high voltage direct current (HVDC) power cables and two (2) 92-km fiber optic cables.
Site acceptance tests (SATs) were conducted at the Dapitan and Santander CTS to ensure the facilities met NGCP’s requirements.
NGCP said work on the submarine cable component commenced in November 2018 and was initially slated to be completed in June last year.
Several other components are for completion, including the Dumanjug Bus-in to Colon-Samboan 138kV Transmission Line in December 2022; Dapitan-Lala 230kV Transmission Line, Kauswagan-Lala 230kV Transmission Line, and Kolambugan-Lala 230kV Transmission Line in August, and the Dumanjug-Santander 350kV Transmission Line, Magdugo-Dumanjug 230kV Transmission Line, and Dumanjug-Alegria 230kV Transmission Line in October.
NGCP is a Filipino-led, privately owned company in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s electricity transmission grid, led by majority shareholders and vice chairmen Henry “Big Boy” Sy and Robert Coyiuto Jr.
It is the sole operating asset of Synergy Grid and Development Philippines.
