by Myrna Velasco January 3, 2016
The two-phased upgrade of the
switchyard of the Agus 2 hydropower plant in Mindanao was given go-signal by
the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to address system vulnerability and
inject power stability in the grid.
In its ruling, the regulatory body
has directed project-implementor National Grid Corporation of the Philippines
(NGCP) to “conduct competitive bidding for the purchase of major materials in
the implementation of the proposed project.”
The project will cost P569.188
million based on budget set in the ERC’s decision. It will be sourced from the
internally generated cash of NGCP.
“The contract for the supply of
materials for the proposed projects will be assigned to qualified suppliers and
contractors following a competitive bidding and selection process,” the ERC has
emphasized.
The switchyard, it was noted, is
currently in decrepit state – given the deterioration of its equipment and
considering also its aging state.
“Out of the 15 power circuit
breakers, 10 manifested rapid deteriorating conditions,” NGCP has manifested in
its filing with the ERC.
It was further emphasized that the
“associated equipment, such as disconnect switches, current and capacitive
voltage transformers and lightning arresters are already outmoded and
defective, thus, are due for replacement.”
NGCP similarly pointed out the
difficulties it has been experiencing “in the maintenance and testing of
the secondary equipment inside the control room of the National Power
Corporation.”
The typical arrangement, it said,
will be for them to seek clearance first from NPC “prior to the conduct of
maintenance activities.”
“The difficulty in this arrangement
is that the control, protection and metering wirings, including marshaling
boxes of the secondary devices are prone to sudden loose contacts and
accidental disconnection making it difficult to perform maintenance activities
due to unorganized arrangement inside the control panels,” the transmission
firm has explained.
It added that such “may lead to
unfavorable incident and eventually to a significant grid failure.”
NGCP stressed that “to address these
serious difficulties, all of the secondary devices and control system are
proposed to be relocated and housed inside a separate control building of the
switchyard.”
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