By Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Reporter
THE National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said it hopes that the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) will issue a decision that ensures fair recovery of its investments.
“We have faith that the ERC will come out with the decision soon,” NGCP Spokesperson Cynthia P. Alabanza told reporters on Friday last week.
“(It) has been quite a while, but we are still hoping that (the rate reset) will come out, and whatever comes out will be fair and will encourage investors to (invest in) NGCP,” she said in Filipino.
Ms. Alabanza said that NGCP needs the support of the government and other external stakeholders.
The grid operator is hoping to recover the costs it incurred in building some transmission projects.
Sought for comment, ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Monalisa C. Dimalanta said that the commission seemed to have demonstrated “clearly” its commitment to “diligently” complete the NGCP reset.
“There have been several roadblocks along the way that constrained us from meeting our self-imposed deadlines, but with the receipt of all consultant reports two weeks ago, we have dedicated days for Commission deliberation to complete the final determination,” she said in a Viber message.
The rate reset process is usually a “forward-looking” exercise that requires the regulated entity to submit forecasted expenditures and proposed projects over a five-year regulatory period.
The fourth regulatory period covers the years 2016 to 2020, while the fifth regulatory period covers the years 2021 to 2025.
Ms. Dimalanta said that the ERC is targeting to complete the rate reset for the fourth regulatory period by the end of the month.
This year, the NGCP completed transmission projects that will accommodate additional generation capacity to meet the growing demand.
The NGCP recently fully energized the Mariveles-Hermosa-San Jose (MHSJ) 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission line at its full 8,000-megawatt (MW) capacity.
The P20.94-billion MHSJ transmission line will accommodate an additional 2,200 MW of supply from new power plants in Bataan and Zambales to the rest of the Luzon grid.
The grid operator also fully energized the P67.98-billion Cebu-Negros-Panay 230-kV Transmission Backbone in April, thereby strengthening the link among three major islands in the Visayas.
The P51.3-billion Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection achieved full operational status in January, enabling power sharing between Mindanao and Visayas with a capacity of up to 450 MW, expandable by another 450 MW.
“We appreciate NGCP’s aggressive push to complete all these projects, especially with the need of the country for more capacity,” Jose M. Layug, Jr., president of the Developers of Renewable Energy for Advancement, Inc., said in a Viber message.
Mr. Layug has encouraged the NGCP and all government agencies, such as the Department of Energy, ERC, and National Transmission Corp., “to continue to work together and ensure alignment between the generation and transmission plans to avoid past experience.”
Noel M. Baga, convenor of the think tank Center for Energy Research and Policy, said that the Philippines is “making significant progress in the development of its grid system.”
“These developments enhance the country’s ability to share power between regions connected by the grid, reducing the likelihood of blackouts and improving overall system stability. But so much more needs to be done,” he said in a social media message.
Mr. Baga said that the government and the NGCP must increase the number of grid interconnection projects and accelerate their completion.
