By Komfie Manalo
The Marcos administration has surpassed the electrification initiatives of the two previous governments, increasing the completion of transmission line projects by 10% from 2022 to 2024, higher than the 8% increase from 2009 to 2022 or in the past 13 years.
In addition, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Raphael Lotilla said the fast-tracking of the transmission line projects would stabilize the power situation and reduce the electricity rates across the country.
"So for the first time, we've been able to connect the Visayas and Mindanao, and also therefore with Luzon, and we have one grid. What does this mean for the country? We currently have an excess power capacity in Mindanao of up to 800 megawatts a year. So the excess capacity can now be transported through the submarine cable to the Visayan islands where they are going to be used," the energy chief added.
"So since 2016, this excess power has, in effect, been stranded. And that's why the President, when he came into office, concentrated on three major projects that would free up stranded power," he added.
Lotilla reported a 10% increase in the length of transmission lines between 2022 and 2024, which is higher than the 8% increase from 2009 to 2022 or in the past 13 years.
Last January, President Marcos led the energization of the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP) that would allow Mindanao to share some 450 megawatts of power with Visayas.
The Cebu-Negros-Panay backbone project, which went online in April this year, also allowed the transfer of power capacity to Panay Island.
"In Luzon, would you believe that at the start, when the President's term began, we had 600 MW of power in Bataan which could not be fully utilized in the metropolitan area because there were not enough transmission lines," Lotilla noted.
The DOE chief said the administration's "formula" to deliver these critical projects is "tutok at pukpok" (focus and political willpower).
"In the case of the Department of Energy, we do the tutok, but for the pukpok, we had to depend on the President," he added.
From lines to loops
Lotilla said that the Philippine grid should build transmission loops to stabilize the power supply across the country further in the future.
"We still have much more to do. For example, the North Luzon Loop—this is to connect Ilocos to Cagayan. Right now, those two areas are one-way streets, and that's why the power is unstable. We've got to build the loop in the transmission so that if something happens on the Ilocos side, we can use the Cagayan side and so on. It is the same with Panay, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Mindoro, which need to be interconnected with Luzon. These are things that we are going to work on," he said.
For her part, Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said the interconnectivity of the county's grids will promote competition in the market that will push for lower power rates.
"The ability of the system to export the excess power from Mindanao to Panay is a unique experience that we are now enjoying.
That excess supply will stabilize the supply situation in Visayas and all the way to Luzon. Additional supply definitely increases competition, and increased competition should lower electricity costs," Dimalanta said.
She added that if power costs remain high despite the stable supply in the market, the ERC will monitor the competition behavior of the industry players and will impose penalties on those engaging in anti-competitive practices.
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