THE National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is set to complete in July of the Hermosa-San Jose (HSJ) 500 kilovolt (kV) line with the lifting of a Supreme Court (SC) issued temporary restraining order (TRO).
NGCP said it can now push through with the last stages of stringing to complete the project critical to secure transmission services in Luzon following nine months of delay due to the issuance of a TRO.
The SC issued a resolution dated Feb. 28, 2024 and promulgated last April 8, 2024, stating the TRO released last July 2023 is lifted.
“This will enable us to complete the remaining portion of the HSJ which will better serve the bulk generation coming in from Bataan,” said NGCP.
A TRO was issued against the expropriation of and construction in a portion of the HSJ owned by Phirst Park Homes Inc.
Upon receipt on July 2023, NGCP immediately stopped project-related activities along towers 170 to 178 of the said line, stalling the ongoing stringing of the line’s remaining circuit from July 2023 to April 2024.
NGCP said HSJ was energized last May 2023 to accommodate power generation from Bataan with a transfer capacity of 2,000 MW which is only a quarter of the full 8,000 MW capacity of lines 1 and 2 pending the completion of the unfinished portion of the line.
With the lifting of the TRO, NGCP began stringing activities for the affected section of the line and completed line 1 last May 19, enabling 4,000 MW line capacity. Line 2 is expected to be finished in mid-July.
The HSJ, with a project cost of P17.3 billion, was earlier certified as an Energy Project of National Significance and its full completion and energization at full capacity are critical in accommodating additional power generation to the grid to prevent Luzon-wide power interruptions.
Of the actual cost of the project, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has allowed NGCP to recover only P19 million or only 0.1 percent of the cost of the project.
“NGCP is optimistic that the ERC will act with appropriate haste on the recoveries applied for by NGCP, as these are long overdue,” the company added.
