THE National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said the completion of the Tuy-Dasmariñas 230/500-kilovolt (kV) transmission line and substation project may be delayed after a regional court ordered relocation of two tower sites.
“The tower parts for the current route have already been manufactured, and it is unlikely that a revised route will make use of the same tower type. We will have to manufacture tower parts from scratch,” the grid operator said in a statement on Thursday.
There would also be an additional construction and right-of-way costs that could be incurred, it said.
The NGCP said that it filed expropriation cases against E.M. Ramos and Sons, Inc. and several other defendants who claim interest over the properties affected by 15 of the 135 towers to be constructed for the project.
The regional trial court of Dasmariñas has issued writs of possession (WoP) for both cases.
However, in an order dated April 8, the regional court ruled to reinstate the previously withdrawn WoP but confirmed the previous order to relocate two towers.
The NGCP said that the expropriation-related delays may lead to additional costs, as well as potential power interruptions as it may hamper the entry of an additional 5,21.55 megawatts in proposed generation capacity near Calaca, Batangas.
The completion of the transmission project is targeted for December of this year.
However, the project could be delayed by an estimated 27 months, involving about a year for right-of-way acquisition and roughly 15 months more for survey, procurement, fabrication of materials, and construction.
“We will be pursuing all remedies available to us to expedite the resolution of the issue. Our priority is to finish our projects on time and prevent avoidable delays of this kind,” the NGCP said.
“We ask our stakeholders to recognize that delays in our projects impact the public directly,” it added.
The Tuy-Dasmariñas 230 kV transmission line project was approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission with an approved cost of P3.05 billion.
The Tuy 500-kV Substation Project Stage 1, with an applied cost of P8.454 billion, is still awaiting ERC approval. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
