Spain’s Fondo para la Internacionalización de la Empresa (FIEM) is financing a feasibility study for a submarine power interconnection between the islands of Camiguin and Mindanao, the Department of Energy said.
The project aims to boost the country’s energy infrastructure and regional development.
Energy assistant secretary Mylene Capongcol said during the contract signing for the feasibility study that the initiative, dubbed the Esperanza-Liong Submarine Cable, was a “strategic investment” in the country’s energy future.
She said the proposed 69-kilovolt (kV) submarine cable would replace an aging 13.2 kV line currently serving Camiguin. The upgrade is expected to resolve long-standing voltage instability, significantly reduce system losses, and ultimately lower electricity costs for Camiguin residents.
Camiguin, an island province in the Bohol Sea off Mindanao’s northern coast, is powered by the Camiguin Electric Cooperative Inc., the sole energy distributor on the island, based in Mambajao.
Capongcol said the submarine link would enable the full integration of renewable energy from the 100-megawatt Owakan wind power project into the Mindanao Grid.
The National Electrification Administration (NEA) signed the feasibility study contract with Madrid-based engineering consultancy firm Osprel SL for the project. Osprel specializes in electrical power, networks, renewable energy, and consulting.
NEA administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda and Osprel SL chief executive Maria Inmaculada Blázquez Garcia signed the agreement at the NEA Building in Diliman, Quezon City.
The study will cover electrical, bathymetric, meteorological and environmental aspects to ensure a more reliable energy supply to Camiguin.
