THE National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said Wednesday that it recently energized a load-end substation in Sto. Domingo, Albay as well as the San Manuel-Nagsaag 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line in Pangasinan.
The NGCP said it commissioned the substation on Dec. 21. The substation is a component of the P382-million Eastern Albay 69 kV Project Stage 2 project, which aims to install circuit breakers and other equipment to allow the entry of new transmission lines and improve system reliability in Albay.
In a briefing Wednesday, NGCP Spokesperson Cynthia P. Alabanza said that the activation of the substation showed the company’s ability to execute projects even during the pandemic.
On Dec. 22, the NGCP also energized the San Manuel-Nagsaag 230-kV line.
“The San Manuel-Nagsaag 230-kV line prevents the congestion of the transmission highway in North and Central Luzon… This also improves voltage and power quality in the area, ensuring the reliability of transmission services for our customers,” the NGCP said in a statement.
The line is capable of meeting an N-1 contingency, operating even in the event of a major system disturbance.
“The San Manuel-Nagsaag line also helps with voltage. The voltage situation in Luzon is tenuous during summer time so this will definitely help… and mitigate whatever difficulties we expect to have during the summer peak,” Ms. Alabanza said.
Asked for updates on the NGCP’s Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP) that was pushed back due to travel restrictions, Ms. Alabanza said that the NGCP is “doing its best to complete everything by December 2021.”
“We said that was the recovery period for the MVIP. That’s what we communicated to the DoE (Department of Energy),” she said.
Last month, power producer Global Business Power Corp., which operates power plants in Mindanao, said that the projected delay in MVIP’s completion will impact the company’s plan to sell excess capacity to wholesale and retail markets in Luzon and the Visayas.
In September, the NGCP said a critical transmission line project such as the MVIP will be further delayed due to the variable enforcement of quarantine and coronavirus disease testing protocols imposed by local government units.
A project that would typically take a month to finish would now take between two and four months to complete, the NGCP has said. — Angelica Y. Yang
