The Energy Regulatory Commission has approved NGCP’s PhP 12.94 billion Cebu–Negros–Panay backbone project that will increase the power transfer capability of the submarine cable interconnections between Cebu, Negros, and Panay. The project involves the construction of a 230 kV transmission corridor that will comprise submarine cables and overhead lines from the Compostela substation in Cebu to the Barotac Viejo substation in Panay. It will require expansion works at the existing substations, as well as construction of a new substation. The backbone project comprises two circuits with a total length of 238 km, which will directly link some of the major bulk substations such as the Bacolod and Cebu substations in the Visayas region. Upon the completion of the project, the overhead transmission lines will be able to accommodate 600 MW per circuit, while the submarine cable interconnections will have a rated capacity of 300 MW per circuit. The proposed project will relieve the existing 138kV transmission corridor in Negros and Cebu islands from power flow congestion during single line outage conditions and will optimize the Leyte-Luzon 350kV line.
