By Lenie Lectura - July 10, 2017
SOME 40 megawatts (MW) of
electricity will be transported from Cebu to Samar, Leyte, Biliran and Bohol
once the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) is able to successfully
conclude testing of the Tabango-Ormoc bypass line.
As of 3 p.m. on July 10, testing resumed
at NGCP’s Ormoc Substation. Testing was temporarily halted first by heavy rains
and again by a strong aftershock felt in the area.
The ongoing trial is necessary
before power is allowed to flow through the bypassed line, which was completed
Sunday.
NGCP assured the public it was
continuously monitoring the situation and would provide more updates as new
information is available.
Officials are working hard to
restore power in affected areas after a 6.5-magnitude quake recently hit the
Visayas.
Geothermal power plants (GPP) of
Lopez-led Energy Development Corp. (EDC) were damaged. Energy Undersecretary
Felix William Fuentebella said 300 MW of power-generating capacity from EDC’s
plants could be restored in at least six days.
In particular, the 120-MW Tongonan
plant could deliver 42 MW in seven to eight days. Another 42 MW, he said, can
be delivered by September 1 and the delivery of the last 42 MW could take
50 days.
Earlier, officials from the
Department of Energy, led by Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi, inspected the
affected plants. These are the 180-MW Mahanagdong GPP; 230-MW Malitbog GPP,
120-MW Tongonan GPP and 120-MW Upper Mahiao GPP.
These power plants have seven other
optimizing plants in their system with an additional generation of 50 MW.
As of July 9, EDC said one unit each
of both the Tongonan and Malitbog power plants will need to be on extended
outage for repair works on damage to the structures of their respective cooling
tower units.
In addition to the plants, visible
damage to a number of circuit breakers, current transformers and other
ancillary switchyard equipment in EDC’s marshaling station have been noted. The
needed spares are already on site and restoration work for the facility has
commenced over the weekend.
Cusi said his office is focusing on
the immediate restoration of power in affected areas.
“Leyte needs roughly 250 MW. We need
to put back 300 MW. Hopefully, we will be able to put that back
soon. The problem is the five plants that were
damaged. NGCP and EDC are working overtime to expedite the restoration
. Our timeline is 10 days,” Cusi said.
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