NGCP completes P988-M Mindanao transmission project

Business World Online
Posted on October 17, 2014 07:25:00 PM

THE NATIONAL Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has completed a P988-million transmission project intended to ensure supply reliability in Mindanao.

In a statement on Friday, the grid operator said the new 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line will loop the northern and southern parts of Mindanao.

The 213-circuit kilometer line spans from Villanueva in Misamis Oriental to Maramag in Bukidnon.

The P988-million Kirahon-Maramag line traverses two provinces and eight municipalities in Mindanao.

“Known as the Kirahon-Maramag 230-kV line, the high-voltage transmission facility provides a vital link between North Mindanao, where existing power plants are, and South Mindanao, where the load or demand is foreseen to increase,” NGCP explained in its statement.

The line is part of the bigger Mindanao Backbone Transmission Project, which is currently being undertaken by NGCP to increase the grid’s transmission capacity to 230 kV from 138 kV.

This will also allow additional corridors for the transmission of power coming from the Agus and Pulangui hydropower facilities, which supply bulk of Mindanao’s supply needs.

“The southern part of Mindanao, particularly the SOCCSKSARGEN area and Davao, is the load center of the island since it is also a center for commerce,” the statement quoted NGCP President and Chief Executive Officer Henry T. Sy, Jr. as saying.

“NGCP needs to ensure that the power generated from the north is transmitted reliably to SOCCSKSARGEN and Davao, especially during summer season,” he added.

“The Kirahon-Maramag line and the new Mindanao Transmission Backbone will ensure that the supply is fully dispatched to meet the demand in the south.”

Data from NGCP showed that the southern part of Mindanao accounts for about 49% of the entire island’s demand, hence, the necessity to increase the transmission capacity from north to south.

NGCP is private firm that operates, maintains and develops the country’s transmission network since 2009. It acquired the 25-year concession of National Transmission Corp. in an auction conducted by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. in 2008.

The firm is in charge of the 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