President Marcos directed the Department of Energy to look into the proposal to allow third parties to construct transmission projects in the country.
"I have also directed the Department of Energy and the ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) to look into the proposal of allowing third parties to construct transmission projects at the pace required by the country’s power needs as we grow out of the pandemic economy," Marcos said.
He made the statement as he led the historic switch-on of the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP) on Friday, Jan. 26.
The President assured that he will continue to support initiatives in the country's power sector.
"I assure that similar support and cooperation will always be extended continuously by government to ensure the timely completion of all these significant transmission projects—particularly those that will relieve congestion, as well as those needed to deliver additional capacities that can be provided by renewable energy," he said.
He also urged the power sector to ensure the reliability and the adequacy of energy supply at all times.
He asked for their cooperation and commitment to achieve the goal for the country’s total electrification "in the soonest possible time."
Activating the MVIP, according to the President, is a pivotal venture, representing a landmark achievement that will significantly enhance the stability and reliability of the country’s power supply by enabling the sharing of power resources among the three major Islands.
Amounting to P52 billion, the MVIP connects the Mindanao and Visayas grids via a 184 circuit-kilometer High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) submarine transmission line, which runs from Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte to Santander, Cebu and includes 526 circuit-kilometers overhead lines.
The project has been designed to initially carry 450 megawatts (MW) of electricity, with the capacity to expand to 900MW to meet future demands.