The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) cited the need for a “holistic approach” to power planning in the face of issues raised by lawmakers on the company’s operations of the country’s power transmission lines.
These include the foreign ownership in NGCP and the alleged vulnerability to the grid that it may cause, the favorable franchise and concession that it secured from the government, resistance to audit as well as the delays in the completion of projects.
“Development in all sectors involved in the power industry must be coordinated, with due attention given to each. Focus and attention must be given to ways forward in the short, medium and long term, especially in rationalizing and optimizing generation planning. We all owe it to our consumers to provide reliable and quality power supply and services for the amount they are paying for,” said Anthony Almeda, NGCP president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
“We remain committed to addressing all energy industry challenges, insofar as transmission is concerned and we continue to pledge our cooperation and devotion to finding holistic and long-term solutions,” Almeda added.
Meanwhile, the company said the country’s transmission system is not vulnerable due to State Grid Corporation of China’s (SGCC) 40 percent stake in NGCP.
“SGCC’s stake cannot and does not amount to control of the company because Filipinos own 60 percent of NGCP. That 60 percent is held by Mr. Henry Sy Jr. and Mr. Robert Coyiuto Jr. Government has always known about SGCC’s participation in NGCP,” Almeda said.
Almeda added the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 also requires the transmission concessionaire to have experience and expertise in the transmission business.
“Since TransCo (National Transmission Corp.) was the only transmission operator in the Philippines, the bidders needed to partner with a foreign entity to comply with the experience and expertise requirement. It was State Grid, as the foreign member of the consortium, which provided this required international experience and expertise to NGCP,” Almeda said.
NGCP added it employed foreign technical experts in the past to ensure the transfer of technical knowledge to Filipino experts.
“The only foreign nationals still with NGCP are the four Chinese directors who sit on our 10-person board. Our foreign technical experts in the past were engaged by NGCP in full compliance with all our laws. They provided technical assistance and advice. None of them were an executive or managing officer of the company,” Almeda said.
