Business World Online
Posted on May 11, 2014 11:00:55 PM
THE NATIONAL GRID Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) plans to invest P1.281 billion to improve transmission services and accommodate a new power project in the Visayas.
In a notice dated April 28, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said the grid operator asked for authorization to implement the Eastern Panay transmission line project.
The project, the regulator said, entails development of the 50-megavolt-ampere Concepcion substation and expansion of the existing Barotac Viejo substation.
NGCP also intends to put up two new transmission lines with 138- kilovolt (kV) and 69-kV capacities.
The project, estimated to cost P1.281 billion, is targeted to be energized by the end of a 34-month construction period.
ERC said that the project is essential to ensure stable power supply on Panay Island.
“With demand on Panay Island continuously increasing, the capacities of existing transmission lines and substations will no longer be adequate in a few years,” the notice read.
“In order to meet the capacity requirements, it is necessary for NGCP to construct new substations and transmission lines.”
NGCP, in its petition, said the project will accommodate electricity to be generated by Palm Concepcion Power Corp.’s 270-megawatt (MW) coal-fired plant.
“If the proposed transmission project will not be implemented, the Concepcion coal-fired power plant will not be able to dispatch its generated power and will result in curtailment equivalent to 270 MW,” NGCP said.
The first 135-MW unit of the plant is scheduled to start commercial operations late this year, while the second 135-MW unit will be completed by 2016.
At the same time, the proposed transmission lines should make dispatch of electricity more reliable.
“[W]ithout the proposed 69-kV line, power delivery to electricity consumers in the northeastern part of Panay will be interrupted during the occurrence of fault [sic] along the existing line,” the grid operator said.
“Thus, construction of the associated 69-kV line will provide contingency and improve the quality of power delivery to power customers being served by the existing Panitan substation.”
NGCP is private company that has been operating, maintaining and developing the country’s transmission network since 2009.
It acquired the 25-year concession of state-owned National Transmission Corp. in an auction conducted by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. in 2008.
The firm is in charge of transmission of high-voltage electricity through power superhighways that involve an interconnected system of transmission lines, towers, substations, and related facilities. -- Claire-Ann Marie C. Feliciano source
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