NATIONAL Transmission Corp.’s (TransCo) proposal to supervise the Visayas-Mindanao interconnection project is beyond the scope of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and should be discussed by the state-led agency with the power system operator, an ERC commissioner said.

“[On the supervision over the project], maybe that’s something that they have to take up with NGCP (National Grid Corp. of the Philippines) and not with ERC,” said Gloria Victoria C. Yap-Taruc, one of four ERC commissioners, told reporters on the sidelines of an industry seminar.

Ms. Yap-Taruc said what she knows so far about TransCo’s plan was confined to what its president said during a forum on Monday. She said she has yet to go through TransCo’s “manifestation.”

Melvin A. Matibag, TransCo president and chief executive officer, earlier this week said he had received a positive response from World Bank on his plan to borrow from lending agency to fund the cost of the Visayas-Mindanao project.

The ERC on Sept. 5, 2017 announced that it had granted provisional authority to NGCP to implement the project for around P51.7 billion.

The project covers the linking of the power grids via Cebu in the Visayas and Dipolog City in Mindanao. The converter stations in Visayas and Mindanao will be located in Sibonga, Cebu and Aurora, Zamboanga del Sur, respectively.

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