By Myrna M. Velasco

The planned upgrade of the Taguig-Baras line to 500-kilovolt transmission capacity will improve wheeling of electricity to Metro Manila, according to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.

Total cost for the project had been pegged at P9.5 billion and has been lodged for approval by the Energy Regulatory Commission. The targeted kick-off of construction is February 2019 and due for completion in August 2020.

The line will be traversing Taguig City onward to Taytay, Binangonan Baras and Morong towns in the province of Rizal.

The transmission upgrade venture will comprise of a new 500kV substation to be installed at Taguig; and with 230kV transmission line that shall stretch from Taguig through Taytay in Rizal province.

As explained by the country’s transmission service provider, this will “help decongest other substations servicing Metro Manila,” and as such, it will improve the reliability of power transmission in covered areas.

By the same token, the line’s capacity upgrade as noted by NGCP, will underpin the growth in electricity demand being experienced in this core segment of the country’s economic corridor.

NGCP stressed that “with the growing load and steadily increasing demand in Metro Manila and nearby provinces of Luzon, the reliability of power transmission is something that NGCP needs to secure.”

It thus emphasized that the new Taguig-Baras 500 kV line will be one of the major transmission networks that will support seamless transmission of electricity while demand is also at its growing pace.

NGCP noted that route survey for the project had already been completed, but it qualified that coordination meetings need to be carried out for necessary re-routing of the line due to the parallel construction of the new Skyway project along the C-6 track.

The company said it is “working closely with the local government and concerned agencies with the initial stage of implementation which includes the acquisition of right-of-way, securing permits and submission of required documents.”