Legislators welcome power plan

Manila Bulletin

By RIO ROSE RIBAYA

March 22, 2011, 6:25pm

MANILA, Philippines — Legislators Tuesday welcomed the P24-billion plan of a private concessionaire to resume a mothballed project of the government that would have long connected the power grids in Visayas and Mindanao.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez lauded the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) for committing to hasten the Leyte-Mindanao Interconnection Project (LMIP), which has been seen to further stabilize and enhance the quality of electric supply nationwide.

Rodriguez thanked one of the industry leaders present during the meeting – NGCP president Henry Sy Jr. – for the private concessionaire’s decision to go ahead on the first phase of the P24-billion LMIP, which was first conceived by the government almost 30 years ago.

Rodriguez cited that the plan of the NGCP to connect power grids in Visayas and Mindanao through a 23-kilometer submarine cable would boost the power supply in the archipelago, attracting investors to bring in money in Mindanao.

“I really believe that (this move will) assure Mindanao of power and investors because if it is interconnected with the entire Philippine grid already then we would have more investors in Mindanao,” Rodriguez said.

“Even if they (power generation companies) are able to produce more power in Mindanao, they will be able to bring it to Luzon and the Visayas through the interconnection. So I thank (NGCP President Henry) Sy (Jr.) and (I hope) the NGCP will go forth and pursue this feasibility study,” he stressed.