President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. recently led the historic switch-on of the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP), signifying the unification of the Philippines’ power grids, in a ceremony at the Kalayaan Hall in Malacañan Palace last January 26, 2024.
Spearheaded by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), this pivotal venture, amounting to PhP52 billion, represents a landmark achievement that will significantly enhance the stability and reliability of the country’s power supply by enabling the sharing of power resources among the three (3) major Islands.
To mark the successful full energization of the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection, NGCP also conducted a simultaneous ceremonial switch-on in Manila, Cebu, and Lanao del Norte, symbolizing the unification of the Philippine grid and marking the full commercial operations of the interconnection.
Aside from the ceremonial switch-on held at Malacañan Palace, NGCP’s Dumanjug Converter Station in Cebu, and Lala Converter Station in Lanao del Norte, also joined the energization ceremony.
The MVIP connects the Mindanao and Visayas grids via a 184 circuit-kilometer High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) submarine transmission line, which runs from Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte to Santander, Cebu and includes 526 circuit-kilometers overhead lines. The project has been designed to initially carry 450 megawatts (MW) of electricity, with the capacity to expand to 900MW to meet future demands. See the connection configuration below.
The NGCP reported that an initial load of 22.5MW was successfully transmitted from Mindanao to Visayas on April 30, 2023. The transmission load was gradually increased in the following months, reaching the full capacity of 450MW.
The commercial energization of the MVIP is anticipated to improve power supply stability and reliability across the country, reduce power interruptions, create a more sustainable energy supply and positively impact economic growth while spurring development in the regions.
Mindanao Grid Transmission Outlook in 2025
Mindanao Grid Transmission Outlook in 2030
