2 NGCP board seats for Maharlika a step to govt energy security goal — DOE

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The acquisition by Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) of equity holdings in the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is a welcome development for the government’s pursuit of energy security, the Department of Energy (DOE) said in a statement on Monday. 

“This is a step toward attaining our goal of ensuring security of supply, reliability, affordability, and promoting competition in the power sector,” Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.

MIC earlier on Monday announced it has acquired a 20 percent stake in the NGCP on the heels of a binding agreement with the Synergy Grid and Development Philippines Inc. (SGP).

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The decision to invest in the country’s power transmission is anchored on the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028 approved by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., which states that the government “should revisit and reevaluate financing investment in transmission,” the Energy department added.

The PDP also recognizes that “investment in transmission expansion offers enormous potential benefits for efficiency by increasing access to low-cost generation, improving reliability and counterbalancing market power,” it added.

The transmission lines are vital to the power sector as new generation projects rely on transmission wires to deliver electricity to customers, with NGCP responsible for such wires and facilities and the operation of the national power grid system, the department said. 

NGCP’s Transmission Development Plan indicates when the transmission wires and substations will be operational and where, which is vital in encouraging more power plant investments.

MIC’s entry in NGCP will help avoid delays in completing transmission projects while providing for additional capital to help lower both the risks of power outages and higher electricity prices.

DOE also said this development can pave the way for “better coordination” between the DOE and the NGCP.

Since January 2009, NGCP has exercised full authority over the management and operations of the nationwide transmission system, a critical public utility, under a franchise granted by the Philippine Congress. 

Prior to MIC’s equity deal with Synergy Grid and Development Philippines Inc. on Monday, a deal which gave the government two board seats in the power grid operator, NGCP was 40 percent owned by the State Grid Corporation of China while the remaining 60 percent is supposedly owned by a group of Filipino businessmen of Chinese descent led by Henry Sy Jr. and Robert Coyiuto Jr. through their companies Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp and Calaca High Power Corp. 

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