NGCP: Military, DILG help solve transmission line problem in Mindanao

Business Mirror

Published on Wednesday, 22 May 2013 19:23

Written by Paul Anthony A. Isla / Reporter

THE National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), the country’s sole power-lines concessionaire, said on Wednesday that members of the 2nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade (MIB) of the Philippine Army in Iligan City has rendered their assistance to solve right-of-way (ROW) issues on its transmission lines in Balo-i, Lanao Del Norte.

The NGCP said in a statement the military unit, through the directive of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Northern Mindanao, coordinated with more than 20 owners of the land traversed by the 138-kiloVolt (kV) Agus 2 to Kibawe line of NGCP.

Through this effort, the NGCP said the military aimed to convince the owners to allow NGCP to trim the trees breaching or about to breach the ROW clearances set by the system operator.

As reinforcement, NGCP said the 2nd MIB also conducted information dissemination among the Municipal Peace and Order Council of Balo-i on the ROW problems and how these adversely affect the service delivery of NGCP.

The NGCP early this year expressed difficulty in maintaining the transmission line due to the intentional planting of trees under the facilities, which caused 20 outages in Lanao as of May.

“The NGCP is thankful the DILG and the military are helping curb ROW violations in Lanao del Norte. We hope this would be the start of a smoother operation and better community relations for us in the area,” lawyer Cynthia P. Alabanza, NGCP spokesman, said.

The Balo-i Substation and lines connected to it, including the 138-kV Agus 2 to Kibawe, are crucial to the Mindanao grid because they carry the bulk of electricity produced by the government-owned generator Agus Complex.

The NGCP said the hydropower plant supplies 500 megawatts (MW) or around 60 percent of Mindanao’s power demand, 200 MW of which passes through NGCP’s Balo-i Substation and lines emanating from it.

The NGCP said it is pushing for the acceleration of the proposed transmission backbone and interconnection projects designed to address major challenges to the country’s main transmission grids.

Based on its transmission development plan, the NGCP proposed six major transmission backbone and interconnection projects aligned to the long-term development plan of the country.

As planned, NGCP said the projects to be implemented by stages and subject to the Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval are the Laoag-Bangui and Tuguegarao-Magapit segments of the 230-kV Northern Luzon backbone, the Hermosa-Castillejos-Masinloc line segment of the 500-kV Western Luzon backbone, the Antipolo extra-high voltage, 230-kV Pasay and Manila substations and 500-kV Hermosa-San Jose line segment of the 500-kV Manila backbone loop, the Batangas-Mindoro interconnection, the 230-kV Cebu, Negros, Panay backbone and the Leyte-Mindanao interconnection project.

Alabanza said these major projects will address the aggressive construction timelines of new power plants, including those tapping renewable-energy sources that require grid reinforcements.

He said these are not part of the ERC-approved capital expenditure program for the third regulatory period from 2011 to 2015.

The NGCP is willing to pursue these crucial projects once approval by the ERC is obtained.   source