ERC clears NGCP's P420-million Visayas transmission project

MANILA, Philippines - The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the country’s power sector watchdog, has approved the P420-million transmission project of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) in the Visayas.

In an order, the ERC said NGCP could push through with the expansion of its Visayas substation, the ERC pointing out that the project would help alleviate the power problem in the Visayas.

Specifically, the project will upgrade the Talavera, Ormoc and Kabankalan substations. This is aimed at increasing the capacity of the substations to support the projected growth in power demand in major load centers in Cebu, Leyte and Negros islands.

NGCP, for its part, said the project would help reduce power interruption in these areas.

“Moreover, the proposed additional transformers at the said substations will provide single outage contingency at the substation level, thus, prevent power interruption to the customers should any of the transformers malfunctions,” it said.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras earlier said they expect power demand in the Visayas region to grow at 5.4 percent annually, necessitating the need for the reinforcement and upgrading of the facilities to support this economic growth.

To date, the dependable power generating capacity in the Visayas is at 1,505 megawatts while peak demand is at 1,430 MW, with a required reserve margin of 335 MW.

“(The Visayas) may be experiencing brownouts simply because of that limited reserve. By the year 2018-2030, the peak demand is targeted at 2,150 megawatts,” the energy chief said.

He said the private and public sectors should work hand-in-hand to improve the facilities to transmit reliable power to the island.

“Clearly, this growing need for energy only means more opportunity for our partners in the private sector. We must continue to invest in exploration, development and production - while at the same time maintaining high standards of management and minimizing environmental impact,” he said.