Published July 26, 2018, 10:00 PM
The National Grid Corp. of the
Philippines (NGCP), the country’s grid operator, said yesterday it has expanded
its capacity in Mindanao ahead of the entry of new generating power plants that
will soon rise in the region.
The additional capacity will
likewise address recent voltage fluctuations in Northern Mindanao and the
rising power needs of the region’s growing economy.
Thus, NGCP has switched on its newly
constructed Aurora-Polanco 138-kilovolt (kV) transmission line 1 last month and
line 2 just this week.
Apart from the Aurora-Polanco 138kV,
NGCP is also completing its Mindanao 230kV Backbone project, which aims to
further strengthen the entire Mindanao grid upon the entry of new generating
plants as well as the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP), which
was declared as an Energy Project of National Significance by the Department of
Energy. MVIP is slated to be completed by 2020.
The Aurora-Polanco 138kV project is
one of NGCP’s initiatives to reinforce power transmission services in the
Zamboanga del Norte area.
In the province, three crucial load
centers namely Dipolog City, Dapitan City, and the Municipality of Polanco have
been recording rapid growth in power consumption for the past several years.
Because of growing demand, these
areas have been suffering from a recent spate of voltage fluctuations since
only an old 69kV transmission line is able to carry power from Aurora in
Zamboanga del Sur.
The new 138kV line will not only
supplement the old line but would enable more power to be transmitted to
Zamboanga del Norte, all the way to Misamis Occidental – effectively ensuring
the continuous and reliable power supply to the entire area.
NGCP also simultaneously upgraded
its Aurora and Polanco Substations to accommodate twice the amount of power
flowing into its facilities.
“As we continue to improve the
country’s transmission grid, we also intensify our focus on the development of
Mindanao as an integral part of the country’s growth,” NGCP said.
The energization of the Aurora-Polanco
138kV Transmission line is another step toward decreasing power interruptions,
mitigating the recent series of voltage fluctuations in the area, and ensuring
the best quality of power that flows into homes, businesses, and industries in
Northern Mindanao, NGCP also said.
The grid operator has reiterated its
appeal to energy stakeholders, local government units, and the public, to
support NGCP for the expedited completion of all its projects, especially the
MVIP.
It believes that all these capacity
expansion would pave the way for Mindanao grid’s readiness to accommodate new
power plants including AC Energy’s GNPower 552 megawatt coal-fired power
generation facility and Alsons’ 105-MW San Ramon Power Inc. (SRPI) baseload
coal-fired power plant in Zamboanga City.
NGCP is a Filipino-led, privately
owned company in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s
power grid, led by majority shareholders Henry Sy Jr. and Robert Coyiuto Jr.
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