By Myrna Velasco
September 15, 2013
A go-signal on capital expenditure (capex) allocation of P683.158 million was given by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for the upgrade and rehabilitation of the Agus 6 facility’s switchyard project of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
The ERC, in its ruling, has revised downwards the proposed project funding due to foreign exchange adjustment from P48 to P43 vis-à-vis the US dollar. The original project cost applied for by NGCP was at P721.604 million.
NGCP qualified that the Agus 6 switchyard is an essential part of Mindanao grid because it is being utilized for a significant portion of power generation to meet the island’s electricity requirements.
The delivery of power to the Mindanao grid by Agus 6 and 7 plants which have dependable capacity of 182 megawatts depends largely on the switchyard; that is in addition to the Agus 6 plant’s critical function as ancillary service provider.
“An outage from any of the HEPP (hydroelectric power plant) or the switchyard would be very critical to the stability of the power supply in Mindanao,” NGCP said.
The switchyard is connected to NGCP’s Balo-i substation; and serves local distribution utilities like the Lanao del Norte Electric Cooperative and Iligan Light & Power Inc.; as well as directly-connected customers like Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation; Platinum Group Metals Corporation; Treasure Steelworks and Pilmico Foods Corporation.
The transmission firm indicated that “the switchyard has shown frequent breakdowns in spite of regular maintenance”; and due to the scarcity of spare parts in the market, previous refurbishments just relied on what could be sourced from retired equipment.
The company added that majority of the switchyard’s existing secondary devices and panels “are all aged, dilapidated and defective”; while facilities are of “poor performance and fast-deteriorating conditions.”
Last year, the lower portion of its cable tunnel also “caught fire that damaged the signs of the carbonized outer wire insulations.”
In the rehabilitation and upgrade proposed by NGCP, it will opt for the construction of a new control building to house the new substation equipment, thereby, easing eventual operation and maintenance (O&M) activities compared to the existing confined space that the switchyard currently has.
On the electrical works component, NGCP will install two additional 69-kilovolt (kV) bays; and will set replacements of old and defective substation equipment and other related accessories; plus replacement of the 150-kilovolt ampere (KVA) station service transformer with a new 300 KVA transformer. source
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