State-owned National Power Corp. on Thursday inaugurated the P691 million Roxas-Taytay 69 kV transmission line in Palawan, stretching the province’s backbone transmission to the northern municipality of Taytay.
NPC president and chief executive Fernando Martin Roxas said the completion of the transmission line would provide reliable electricity and typhoon-resilient facilities in the provinces where the company maintains and operates the transmission system.
“With this new transmission line, we’ll not only improve power dispatch and eventually decrease systems loss, but we can also accommodate more power generators to cater to the growing electricity needs of Palawan,” Roxas said.
NPC said the 71.3-circuit-kilometer line was bid out and awarded in two schedules, with the first half awarded to SL Development Construction Corp. and the second to DM Consunji, Inc.
The capital expenditures for the project came from the national government’s Special Allotment Release Order in previous years.
NPC also maintains 24 Small Power Utilities Group power plants in the far-flung islands of Palawan aside from operating Palawan’s transmission system.
“We are happy to be part of this continuous progress of Palawan. We are sure that development doesn’t stop here as we are committed to energizing more areas, sustaining the operations of our power plants here, and optimizing the operations of our 69 kV transmission lines,” said Roxas.
NPA, as mandated by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, is tasked to perform missionary electrification in islands not connected to the main transmission grid.
It operates 281 SPUG power plants and develops and maintains the transmission systems of Palawan, Oriental and Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, Masbate and Catanduanes.