An injunction issued by the Supreme Court has hobbled efforts by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to connect the island of Guimaras to Panay via a 138-kilovolt (kV) interconnection line.
The restraining and review order against NGCP comes in the wake of a similar legal restraint hounding the ongoing land dispute over the Kang-Irag property in Cebu with the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority. This has effectively halted construction of the Cebu-Magdugo 230-kilovolt line necessary to the full pursuit of the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project.
The NGCP said the completion of the Panay-Guimaras project is a necessary component to the broader program addressing the rising demand for power in Iloilo City to provide greater transfer capacity to and from Guimaras Island where renewable energy projects are being developed.
The NGCP said that in April this year the SC favored the Iloilo Grain Complex Corp.’s (IGCC) petition for certiorari and prohibition and urgent application for a TRO and/or writ of preliminary injunction, preventing NGCP from executing a writ of possession (WOP) and related orders issued by the Iloilo Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 33 dated December 12, 2022.
NGCP said the disputed tower sites fall under the property of IGCC but are critical to the 1.7-kilometer transmission line connecting the proposed Iloilo substation to the Ingore cable terminal station. The towers serve as connection point of the submarine cable to Guimaras Island.
“The SC’s decision is disheartening as it hinders us from fulfilling our commitment to the residents of the islands of Panay and Guimaras, including fast-developing Iloilo City. Nevertheless, we steadfastly maintain our dedication to enhancing power transmission within the area despite this setback,” NGCP said in a statement.
The 138-kilovolt Panay-Guimaras interconnection has an applied budget of over P3 billion still under review by the Energy Regulatory Commission but seen forthcoming this December. The NGCP said it has been forced to advance the project even with the budget approval still pending to insure continued and uninterrupted power services.
NGCP also said it has fully complied with the requisites of the injunction and continues to reach out to IGCC for an expeditious and amicable settlement but hesitates on the IGCC proposal to re-route the line past a residential area directly traversing five households as opposed to the open area traversed by the project’s current route now under a legal restraint.
NGCP warned that any deviation in the established route affects adjacent towers and further delay the completion of the project.
“We are hopeful for the urgent resolution of the issue so as not to hamper the interconnection which will improve the region’s power transmission backbone,” the company said.“When we plot the route of our transmission line projects, a major consideration is the existence of structures and residents. We aim to traverse areas that will cause least destruction to property, and result in the least number of persons displaced… In the interest of the public’s convenience and the continuing growth of Iloilo, we will do what we can to push the immediate completion of this critical project,” NGCP added.
