MANILA, Philippines – The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) assured yesterday that some of its transmission line projects, including those being upgraded, are in the final stages of completion to address load growth in many areas around the country.
NGCP President Henry T. Sy Jr. told the 34th Annual General Membership Meeting of Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association, Inc. (PHILRECA) at PICC yesterday that some critical transmission lines and upgrading projects are expected to be completed by end of 2013.
Sy, in a speech read for him by his assistant Joseph Ferdinand M. Dechavez, said that NGCP is pursuing the implementation of projects like the Colon-Cebu 138-kV Transmission to mitigate the impact of line rental charges on customers in Bohol and Panay.
“This will reinforce the Cebu backbone which is transmitting the 246 MW of CEDC Coal and the 200 MW of KSPC Coal Power Plants to electric cooperatives in Cebu and in Bohol,” adding that the Visayan Electric Company, BOHECO I, Mactan Enerzone Corporation, General Milling Corporation and the Waterfront Hotel and Casino would benefit from the project once completed in December 2013.
In Mindanao, Sy said that the Balo-i-Villanueva-Maramag transmission project would also be finished in December, completing the Mindanao 230-kV transmission backbone which links northern and southern Mindanao.
Also, Sy added, the second circuit of the Butuan-Placer 138-kV transmission project that would provide power supply to mining operations in northeastern Mindanao would soon be implemented.
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More transmission lines and upgrading are also due for completion in 2014, he said, citing the Lumban-Bay 230-kV transmission line and the Opol Substation Project as among them.
The Lumban Bay 230-kV transmission line in Laguna is being upgraded from 600 MVA to 2,400 MVA. Started in December 2011 and targeted for completion in June 2014, the project would provide an alternate highway to the more than 2,000 MW capacity presently connected to the 230-kV system in the Batangas area, he said.
“Once completed, the Calaca Substation will no longer be the single merging node in the area, therefore, major grid disturbances affecting the Luzon Grid can be averted,” Sy, Jr. said.
In Mindanao, the Opol Substation Project would be completed by November 2014, he said. Strategically located near the load centers of CEPALCO and MORESCO I, the project is expected to improve the reliability of transmission services for the newly opened Laguindingan International Airport.
