THE government is streamlining the system to fast track the completion of energy infrastructure projects in the country to catch up with the rising demand and boost development, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Monday.
“Kaya nga ganito ‘yung ginagawa namin, minamadali talaga namin, trying to do it as quickly as possible because marami sa program ng NGCP natulog nang matagal. So, we’re doing everything that we can in the government side also para matapos na ‘yung proyektong iyon,” President Marcos said in an interview during the ceremonial energization of the Cebu-Negros-Panay 230-kilovolt Backbone project in Bacolod City.
The President had taken notice that some of the projects are already “many years” behind the scheduled completion.
“So, we have to play our part also that, we, yun na nga ‘yung sinabi ko ‘yung mga permitting, ‘yung mga ECC (Environmental Compliance Certificate), ‘yung mga permits ng ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) etc., pati ‘yung pricing, all of these things we try to do it much, much more quickly. Before it took, it’s been taking two to three years. It should take much less than that. So, we’re streamlining the system,” he said.
Marcos said the goal is to align the transmission service together, particularly in areas with significant power production and cooperatives.
For instance, Marcos said Negros has abundant supply of solar energy that could be channeled to other areas through a consolidated transmission system.
“So, ‘yun mailalabas na natin not only for, if you look at the map, ang linya, goes from Panay Island across Negros tapos submarine cable hanggang Cebu. So, ibig sabihin that the transmission for that whole area, that transmission line will service is now aligned together.,” he said.
The P67.9-billion CNP (Cebu- Negros- Panay) grid will address the surging energy demands in the area and propel the socio-economic advancement of Western and Central Visayas considering its about 16 million population.
The two regions contributed P2.24 trillion to the economy in 2022.
The CNP project, composed of CNP1, CNP2, CNP3 and Negros-Panay Interconnection Project Line 2 (NPIP L2), is intended to strengthen the grid and improve the reliability of power transmission in the islands of Cebu, Negros and Panay.
