National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP)
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is a private corporation holding a 25-year legislative franchise under RA 9511 to operate, manage, and expand the Philippines’ nationwide electricity transmission network. NGCP is the System Operator (SO) and transmission service provider for the Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao grids. Physical ownership of the transmission assets remains with the government-owned National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) under a Concession Agreement signed in 2008. See National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) .
NGCP operates as a regulated private monopoly — its rates, interconnection projects, and CAPEX are subject to DOE policy directives and ERC regulatory approval.
Legal Basis
| Instrument | Detail |
|---|---|
| RA 9511 | NGCP’s legislative franchise; 50-year term; 60% Filipino ownership; 3% franchise tax in lieu of all other taxes; cross-ownership ban with Power Industry Players; PSE listing requirement (≥20% within 10 years); Congressional approval required for transfer of franchise or controlling interest |
| Concession Agreement (2008) | 25-year agreement with TransCo; grants NGCP management, operation, and expansion rights over TransCo-owned assets |
| RA 9136 (EPIRA) | Structural basis for transmission as a regulated natural monopoly separate from generation and distribution |
| RA 11659 (2022) | Amended CA 146 (Public Service Act); Transmission of Electricity remains a public utility (§4 amending CA 146 §13(d)); 60% Filipino ownership requirement remains; Foreign SOE ban (§24); Presidential national security review of foreign investments (§23); generation NOT a public utility; see Digest: RA 11659 — An Act Amending Commonwealth Act No. 146 (Public Service Act) |
Mandate
NGCP’s core obligations under its franchise and the Concession Agreement:
- Operate and maintain the transmission network to Grid Code standards (reliability, voltage, frequency)
- Plan and execute transmission infrastructure expansion through the Transmission Development Plan (TDP), subject to DOE approval
- Procure ancillary services to ensure system reliability
- Provide open and non-discriminatory transmission access to all generators and distribution utilities
- Submit annual CAPEX plans for ERC approval
- Comply with DOE planning instruments — including the Smart and Green Grid Plan (SGGP) — within prescribed timelines
Transmission Development Plan (TDP)
The TDP 2022-2040 (TRANSMISYON 2040) was approved by DOE on 29 December 2022. It sets the rolling investment roadmap for transmission expansion across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, including:
- Backbone strengthening (500-kV and 230-kV projects)
- Island interconnections (CCIP, BMIP, QMIP, PMIP)
- CREZ transmission connections for OSW and RE zones
See Transmission Development Plan (TDP) .
Major Projects (Mid-2023 Status)
| Project | Voltage | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| HSJ 500-kV — Luzon backbone (Heneral Sto. Niño–San Jose) | 500 kV | Energized 27 May 2023 | 2,000 MW loading; 10 delays since June 2019; full energization target Feb 2024 |
| CNP 230-kV Stage 3 — Cebu–Negros–Panay (Visayas backbone) | 230 kV | 97.2% complete | 270 MW commissioned; 800 MW design; 7 delays since Dec 2020; target Mar 2024 |
| MVIP — Mindanao–Visayas Interconnection | — | 99.3% complete | 270 MW (Jul 2023); 450 MW target; target Jan 2024; first “One Grid Philippines” interconnection |
| BMIP — Batangas–Mindoro | — | ERC-approved Nov 2022 | Target Sept 2027; NGCP accelerated target 2025 |
| CCIP — Camarines Sur–Catanduanes | 69 kV | Awaiting ERC approval | Filed June 2022; target December 2030 |
| QMIP — Quezon–Marinduque | — | Awaiting ERC approval | Filed July 2021; target December 2030 |
| PMIP — Palawan–Mindoro (Stage 1) | — | Awaiting ERC approval | Filed March 2019; target February 2033 |
See Island Grid Interconnection for full project details and Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP) for MVIP specifically.
Grid Facilities (December 2022)
Total substation capacity: 48,801 MVA | Total transmission line: 21,027 ckt-km [PDP 2023-2050, Table 5, p.21, 2023; source: TDP 2023-2040 Consultation Report]:
| Grid | Substation (MVA) | Transmission Line (ckt-km) |
|---|---|---|
| Luzon | 35,641 | 9,632 |
| Visayas | 5,849 | 5,393 |
| Mindanao | 7,311 | 6,002 |
| Total | 48,801 | 21,027 |
Additionally, 5,787 MVAR of capacitor banks and shunt reactors are installed across the three grids to maintain voltage compliance per the Philippine Grid Code.
Projects completed 2021–2022: NGCP completed 31 transmission projects between January 2021 and December 2022. Notable completions [PDP 2023-2050, Table 6, pp.21–22, 2023]:
- Balsik (Hermosa)–San Jose 500 kV TL (Luzon, 19 Dec 2022) — part of HSJ backbone
- Mariveles–Balsik (Hermosa) 500 kV TL (Luzon, 09 Apr 2022) — HSJ feeder
- Cebu–Negros–Panay 230 kV Stage 3 (Visayas, 24 Dec 2022)
- Cebu–Negros–Panay 230 kV Stage 2 (Visayas, 15 Dec 2022)
- Mindanao–Visayas Interconnection Project (partial, Dec 2022, both Visayas and Mindanao terminations)
- Kauswagan–Lala 230 kV TL (Mindanao, 23 Feb 2022)
GOMP: NGCP submits its Grid Operating and Maintenance Program (GOMP) — a 3-year planned outage schedule — to the DOE each Q3 per DC2020-02-0004. GOMP 2023-2025 was submitted 25 October 2022. See Grid Operating and Maintenance Program (GOMP) .
Grid Expansion Rate and DOE Concerns
The Philippines’ transmission grid expanded only 8% in total line length since 2009, with pre-pandemic annual expansion averaging approximately 1% per year — a rate the DOE has identified as insufficient to support the RE integration requirements of the Clean Energy Scenarios (CES-1 and CES-2) [PEP 2023-2050 Vol. II, 2023].
The bottleneck is particularly critical for offshore wind (OSW) integration, where grid connection to OSW sites in Northern Mindoro, NW Luzon, and Manila Bay is a gating condition for CES viability. NGCP must adopt the SGGP and submit an implementation plan within 6 months of PEP 2023-2050 publication [PEP 2023-2050 Vol. II, p.82, 2023]. See Smart and Green Grid Plan (SGGP) and Offshore Wind (OSW) .
Oversight and Accountability
TransCo monitoring: TransCo oversees NGCP’s compliance with the Concession Agreement through annual asset inspections, technical review of ERC submissions, and participation in ERC regulatory hearings [PEP 2023-2050 Vol. III, p.47, 2023].
PAAT-TNPSO: DO 2023-06-0018 (8 June 2023) established a Performance Audit and Assessment Team for NGCP Transmission Network Performance and System Operations (PAAT-TNPSO), DOE-led with members from TransCo, ERC, PEMC, and PSALM. Findings serve as the basis for ERC’s incentive/penalty system and any Congressional review of NGCP’s franchise [PEP 2023-2050 Vol. II, p.85, 2023]. Assessment of NGCP concession renewal is explicitly within PAAT-TNPSO’s scope [PDP 2023-2050, Ch.3 Sec.2.12, p.109, 2025].
AS-CSP (DC2021-10-0031): DOE issued the Ancillary Services Competitive Selection Process (AS-CSP) Policy on 4 October 2021, mandating NGCP to procure required ancillary service levels through competitive selection to ensure transparency and broad participation of eligible generation companies, with awards documented in Ancillary Services Purchase Agreements (ASPAs) [DC2021-10-0031, §1.5, 2021]. Key structural features:
- TPBAC: NGCP must establish an independent Third Party Bids and Awards Committee (5 members: 2 SO officers, 1 SO lawyer, 1 IEMOP rep, 1 TransCo rep). The NGCP Board of Directors serves as observer only [DC2021-10-0031, §5.1, 2021].
- ASAPP: Annual AS procurement plan submitted to DOE by 31 March, posted publicly by 30 April; covers 10-year AS demand projections for all three grids [DC2021-10-0031, §4, 2021].
- CSP timeline: Each CSP must be completed within 90 calendar days from ITB posting to ASPA signing; ASPAs jointly filed with ERC within 15 working days [DC2021-10-0031, §7.10–7.11, 2021].
- EPIRA capacity caps apply: Bidders may not hold >30% of any grid’s or >25% of national installed generating capacity; NGCP affiliates are barred from bidding [DC2021-10-0031, Annex A §13.2–13.5, 2021].
- 1st AS-CSP results: 38 bidders received Notice of Award; 36 ASPAs executed (2 bidders declined) [PDP 2023-2050, Ch.3 Sec.2.6, pp.107–108, 2025].
See Ancillary Services (AS) for full AS types, payment structure, and CSP procedure.
Force Majeure CAPEX: NGCP filed 30 of 103 sector-wide Force Majeure CAPEX applications with the ERC from 2008–2023, forming part of the PhP 10.14 billion total reviewed [PEP 2023-2050 Vol. III, p.37, 2023].
Note: RA 9511 now ingested — see Digest: RA 9511 — NGCP Franchise Act for full franchise terms. Concession Agreement terms remain sourced from PEP/PDP planning documents only.