The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) on Friday approved a resolution “appealing to the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), through the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), to prioritize the interconnection of power lines from Cebu to Bohol via Cabilao Island” in Loon town.
The energy-related legislation was requested by the Bohol Energy Development Advisory Group (BEDAG), which is chaired by Governor Edgar Chatto and co-chaired by Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla. Its request was coursed through the Provincial Planning and Development Office headed by Atty. John Titus Vistal. In a transmittal letter sent to the SP, Atty. Vistal informed that BEDAG is a “newly-created provincial advisory group that looks into the long-term development of power and energy for the Province of Bohol, and recommends to the provincial leadership, especially to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, policies that will ensure the long-term sustainability of power supply in the province, among others.”
The BEDAG request is based upon the fact that, although the Province of Bohol was spared from the brunt of Super Typhoon Yolanda in November 2013, the whole province nevertheless suffered from the power shortage that followed as a result of the heavy damage to the interconnection facilities of Leyte’s power supply to Bohol. While emergency power lines were quickly installed, the province realized that it has been relying on limited power sources, namely: the geothermal submarine link from Leyte, and a few small hydro and diesel plants in the province. This means that Bohol is quite vulnerable to electric shortage due to disasters.
Considering that the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has in its pipeline the Proposed Cebu-Bohol Interconnection Project (2016-2023), Governor Chatto pushed for the BEDAG resolution that would strategically connect Bohol’s power lines via node connection with those of Cebu, adding to Bohol’s power supply and making the province more power-resilient. As it is intended, the said connectivity is also hoped “to improve power transmission-distribution efficiency and minimize line congestion.”