Vis-Min grid connector project seen hitting full capacity by July

THE Department of Energy (DoE) said the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP), which has been in test operations since March, is expected to build up to a full load of 450 megawatts (MW) by July.

“The MVIP… started testing and commissioning… with only 80 megawatts (MW),” Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina L. Guevara said via Zoom on Tuesday.

“They are going to increase that until we reach July, back and forth; currently, we are only testing it one way,” Ms. Guevara said.

“They have to do the lines one by one and then if both work, going to Visayas and Mindanao then we can do 225 MW half capacity back and forth (which) will happen sometime in June and then 450 MW by the time we reach July,” she added.

The P52-billion MVIP, a project of National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, will result in the connection of the country’s three main grids, enabling each region to supply surplus electricity as needed.

The DoE is also planning to launch a unified Wholesale Electricity Spot Market once the MVIP is fully operational.

The DoE is looking at a unified electricity spot market to allow Mindanao to trade power while easing the demand pressures on the Luzon grid.

The MVIP was certified in 2018 as an Energy Project of National Significance, granting it an expedited approval process. It was initially targeted for completion by December 2020, though it was ultimately delayed by the pandemic. — Ashley Erika O. Jose