Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (Facebook)

Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez says it's possible for power rates to go down in Mindanao.

This, as the veteran congressman expressed optimism for the second phase of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines' (NGCP) P10.6-billion Mindanao substation upgrading program.

“Our constituents in Cagayan de Oro and Mindanao are grateful to NGCP, especially to Chairman Henry Sy Jr. and President Anthony Almeda, for this substation upgrading program,” Rodriguez said.

“Once this program is complete, and together with the interconnection of the Mindanao grid to Visayas and Luzon, there should be stable and ample power supply in Mindanao. Who knows, power rates may even go down,” he said.

The program was recently kicked off with the energization of a 100-megavolt ampere transformer in Toril district in Davao City.

He said Davao City “is just the start and we await the energization of more substations all over Mindanao, including Cagayan de Oro City and our province, Misamis Oriental".

Rodriguez noted that Mindanao residents have been complaining about the high cost of electricity in the island.

Aside from Toril district, NGCP has said it would install new transformers in Misamis Oriental, Lanao del Norte, Agusan del Norte, Davao del Sur, North Cotabato, and South Cotabato “to ensure continuous operations in case of outages".

It said the energization of the Toril transformer and similar facilities in Mindanao “will boost the grid’s overall reliability".

It said its substation upgrading program “is again testament to our commitment to expand and improve the country’s transmission grid and to provide better services at a lower cost to the consumer".

“These upgrading efforts are ultimately geared towards readying the grid for the influx of businesses, industries and investments in the region,” NGCP added.