THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) granted approval to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), which is seeking to build the Milaor 500-kilovolt Substation Project in Camarines Sur to accommodate the additional power to be generated by offshore wind farms.
In a decision promulgated on Dec. 18, the ERC called the P13-billion project a necessary component of the NGCP’s expansion plans.
The regulator said cost recovery will be determined after expenses are validated in the next rate reset process.
Camarines Sur is expected to host several energy projects, including offshore wind farms. Developers with offshore wind power projects in the province have targeted commissioning of their projects as early as 2027.
The NGCP said the substation will provide a connection point for the proposed bulk offshore wind power plants in Camarines Sur to the grid.
The Philippines hopes to generate initial power from offshore wind by 2028.
The NGCP also said the substation will complement the planned increase in the transfer capacity of the Luzon-Visayas link by upgrading the high-voltage direct current system’s transfer facility from 440 megawatts (MW) to 880 MW.
The ERC directed the grid operator to complete the installation and commissioning of one of the two 1,000-megavolt-ampere power transformers at the substation by 2027, with full completion scheduled by Aug. 31, 2030.
“Non-compliance therewith will result in administrative penalty provided under relevant laws, and pertinent rules and regulations of the Commission,” the ERC said.
The Commission also ordered NGCP to pay a P97.2-million permit fee.
Under a congressionally granted 50-year franchise, the NGCP has the right to operate and maintain the transmission system and related facilities, and to exercise the right of eminent domain as needed to construct, expand, maintain, and operate the transmission system.
NGCP’s capital expenditure projects must be approval by the ERC under Republic Act No. 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera