The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is seeking court intervention to hasten the resolution of a legal roadblock slowing down the completion of the Tuy-Dasmariñas 500-kiloVolt (kV) Transmission Line Project.
On Friday, the transmission operator said that the project may be further delayed due to the recall of the writ of possession (WOP) in one of the expropriation cases.
Expropriation cases have been filed by the NGCP against E.M. Ramos and Sons Inc. and other defendants claiming interest in properties that will be affected by 16 of the 135 towers to be constructed for the project.
Issuance of writ of possession
As early as 2020, the expropriation court issued a WOP for three properties covering six tower sites. However, on 10 November 2023, the Regional Trial Court Branch 90 in Dasmariñas Cavite recalled the WOP and ordered the relocation of one of the towers.
A motion for reconsideration was immediately filed by the NGCP which argued that ordering the relocation of public infrastructure for which an expropriation case has been filed is beyond the powers of an expropriation court, unless fraud, bad faith, or abuse of discretion can be found.
Another one of the respondents in the expropriation case, St. Francis Square Realty Corporation, also filed a Motion for Partial Reconsideration requesting the relocation of yet another tower. After five months, a resolution of both issues remain pending in expropriation court.
Entire Luzon grid affected
“These setbacks encountered will most likely delay the completion of the Tuy-Dasmariñas project and will affect transmission services. We are not only talking about the provinces of Cavite and Batangas but the entire Luzon grid and the interconnected Visayas and Mindanao grids. More importantly, the project will enable the entry of big power generation from Batangas,” NGCP said.
NGCP’s Calaca substation is currently the sole substation in the western part of Batangas that transmits over 2,000 megawatts (MW) of power generated by plants in the region. This power is primarily delivered to consumers in South Luzon and Metro Manila through existing transmission facilities.
Batangas has become one of the generation hubs for large renewable energy plants such as solar and wind plants due to the increasing demand in Metro Manila and the development of Southern Luzon.
As of November 2023, the DoE has estimated a total of 5,215.55MW generation capacity proposed near Calaca.
Some of these plants are already under construction, while others are still in the “indicative” stage and are expected to be commissioned within the next six years.
