PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has approved the proposed interisland connection of Palawan and Mindoro Islands to expand the national grid.
The chief executive made the decision, when he met with officials of the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Power Corporation (NPC) in Malacañang on Tuesday.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) had proposed the interconnection project with the use of submarine cables to improve the power supply in Palawan by connecting it to the main Luzon power grid.
Palawan and Mindoro suffered power outages in the past due to delayed release in Universal Charge Missionary Electrification (UCME) subsidy from National Power Corp. (Napocor) to power plants operating in both areas.
During the power sector meeting, Marcos also called for the use of renewable energy in 125 stand-alone islands served by small power utilities groups.
“He ordered for all renewable energy sources to become more holistic in outlook, to look beyond supplying power to households and to support the growth industries in the countryside,” Press briefer Daphne Oseña-Paez said in a press briefing last Tuesday.
The said initiatives are part of the government’s efforts to achieve the President’s goal of achieving 100 percent electrification nationwide, which he announced during his second State of the Nation Address (SONA).
