National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) senior manager Henry Labrada reported that the target completion of the Cebu-Bohol Interconnection Project (CBIP) is set in November 2023.
Labrada reported to Gov. Arthur Yap and Cong. Edgar Chatto the progress of the ongoing construction work of the interconnection project during a site visit to the Cable Terminal Station in barangay Punta Cruz, Maribojoc on June 14, 2022.
Labrada said they received the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on that same day.
The ECC is a needed document as the NGCP is about to lay submarine cables in July 2022.
He also said the first two cables were loaded earlier and the final cable was loaded on June 15, 2022.
The submarine cable has a capacity of up to 600 megawatts (MW) with a maximum of 1,200MW.
Meanwhile, the Cable Terminal Station in Maribojoc is 51.77% completed as of June 2023.
The expansion of Corella Sub Station is also in its final stages, he added. The ongoing CBIP work also includes the Maribojoc-Corella and Argao-Dumanjog transmission lines, and the Argao Cable Terminal Station.
This ensures power redundancy, reliability and resiliency, with the existing Leyte-Bohol Interconnection.
Chatto, as then Bohol governor, formed the Bohol Energy Development Advisory Group (BEDAG) with the aim to pursue plans for reliable and stable power for the province.
Comprised of power stakeholders with Chatto as chair, the BEDAG, in collaboration with United States Agency for International Development (USAID), formulated the Bohol Island Power Development Plan and established One Bohol Power (1BP). The 1BP is composed of power distribution utilities in Bohol, namely, the Bohol 1 and 2 Electric Cooperative and the Bohol Light Company Inc.
Two approaches were adopted to ensure stable and reliable power for Bohol. The first approach was the Competitive Selection Process(CSP) to be conducted by 1BP to select a new power supplier by December 26, 2023 when the existing supply contracts will expire.
The second approach was to push for the Cebu-Bohol Submarine Cable Power Interconnection through NGCP to assure power supply redundancy for Bohol.
These approaches were pursued with resilience, cost efficiency and environmental considerations, the reports say.
On June 15, 2022, Yap convened BEDAG with 1BP Technical Working Group and NGCP reporting developments in the power plan.
In 2021, the distribution utilities signed the Power Supply Agreement with the Energy Development Corporation now in the process of complying permits for land-based power.Both 1BP and NGCP are expected to complete their projects within the 2023 timelines, ensuring resilient, cost efficient and environment friendly power in the province.
NGCP and its contractors showed to Yap and Chatto the progress in the Maribojoc Cable Terminal Station component work, signing the commemorative hard hats afterwards.