President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the energization of the National Grid Corporation’s P67.98 billion Cebu-Negros-Panay 230kV Backbone will help resolve the power supply challenges that have plagued the Negros and Panay sub-grids, and which have caused very serious economic setbacks for the region.
“Power outages are hindrances to progress. Our power system must be the spark to ignite development”, the president said at the ceremonial energization of the CNP Backbone Project Stage 3 at the NGCP Bacolod Substation in Bacolod City Monday morning, April 8.
While the CNP3 is a major step forward, the president also urged all stakeholders in the Visayas to strategically identify suitable locations that will host new baseload generation plants, as well as renewable energy and energy storage systems.
“This will bolster energy sufficiency and sustainability in Negros and Panay Islands,” he said.
“I encourage private generators to invest in the Negros and Panay sub-grids so that the region can meet its energy demands and ensure self-sufficiency in the long run,” he said.
Marcos said the opening of the new transmission network makes it more attractive for private investors to come in.
The NGCP said the new transmission line increases the power transmitted to Cebu, Negros and Panay from 180 MW to 490MW.
“The completion of this project is a milestone in our pursuit to enhance the resilience and reliability of our power infrastructure, especially in this area,” Marcos said.
STRANDED SOLAR POWER
He noted that Negros has had captive solar power that it has been unable to transmit because of inadequate transmission capacity in the past.
“The northern part of Negros Island has close to 500 megawatts that’s stranded… so this transmission line (CNP3) will make that available to wherever else it is needed,” he said.
REGION 6, 7 GROWTH
“The CNP3 will also address the surging energy demands in the area and propel the socio-economic advancement of Regions VI and VII to new heights,” the president said.
Marcos pointed out that the combined population of Western and Central Visayas is more or less 16 million.
The contribution of the two regions to our economy was a robust P2.24 trillion in 2022, he also said.
“As the population expands and the economy expands, their power supply must too,” he said, pointing out that no region can be an economic powerhouse without reliable supply of power.
“No region can attain a dynamic economy if it is hobbled by an inadequate power transmission systems”, he said.
“We cannot rally our people to seize the bright future that awaits them when their homes, their schools, and their businesses are often dark,” Marcos added.
By enhancing connectivity and stability in the transmission network through CNP3, the president said “we are not only addressing immediate power challenges in the Negros and Panay, but also laying the foundation for a more sustainable and robust energy for the entire country”.
“Let us remain steadfast in our drive to ensure the timely completion of the remaining major transmission projects to bolster the stability of our power grid,” he added.
The government, specifically the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulation Commission, is working very closely with NGCP so that road blocks or the bottlenecks that used exist can open up to make the process easier and faster so that there will be an immediate effect on, not only on the health and comfort of consumers, but for industries in the area, Marcos said.
LESSEN BROWNOUTS
Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said CNP3 has doubled the capacity for the transmission of power from Luzon and Mindanao to Negros and Panay that will help lessen brownouts.
It not only is it for importing but also for exporting power that will enable Negros solar farms to dispatch its power elsewhere, Benitez said.
The NGCP held a simultaneous ceremonial energization and inauguration of its newly completed CNP 230-kiloVolt (kV) Backbone on Monday in the provinces of Iloilo, Negros Occidental, and Cebu.
The CNP is comprised of 670 transmission towers spanning 442 circuit kilometers of overhead lines, 98.9 circuit kilometers of submarine cables with 10 new substations and the expansion of 2 existing major substations.
NGCP president Anthony Almeda said in the past 12 months they have successfully energized major backbone projects: the Hermosa-San Jose 500kV Transmission Line in Luzon, and the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection.
The CNP Backbone is their third major accomplishment under the Marcos administration, he said.
“CNP3 strengthens the link between three major islands of the Visayas, and will provide a more reliable transfer of power to support the fast growing economies of the provinces in the islands of Cebu, Negros, and Panay,” Almenda said.*