The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is hopeful the issue on the expropriation and construction of a portion of the Hermosa-San Jose (HSJ) 500 kiloVolt (kV) transmission line in Bataan will soon be resolved.
NGCP said the first line of the said project has been completed and energized at its intended capacity but the completion of the second line is crucial for the line to be fully functional.
Cynthia Alabanza, NGCP assistant vice president and head of public relations department, at the sidelines of an inauguration event in Bacolod City on Monday, expressed hope the temporary restraining order (TRO) on the construction is lifted soon.
A TRO was issued early last year against the expropriation and construction on a portion of the HSJ line owned by Phirst Park Homes Inc. preventing the company from doing project-related activities along towers 170 to 178 of the said line, particularly the ongoing stringing of the line’s remaining circuit.
“At present, the Hermosa-San Jose line is enough to cater with the current requirement.
However, if we are not able to complete the second line maybe by next year, the capacity will no longer be enough. So we really need to complete that,” Alabanza said.
The transmission line was energized last May 2023 to accommodate power generation from Bataan.
The line currently has a transfer capacity of 2,000 megawatts (MW) which is only a quarter of the full 8,000 MW capacity of lines 1 and 2 which cannot be accomplished due to the work stoppage following the TRO.
