NGCP to implement typhoon action plan

MANILA, Philippines - National Grid Corporation of Philippines (NGCP), the private concessionaire managing the country’s power transmission highway, will implement an Integrated Typhoon Action Plan (ITAP) ahead of the rainy season.

NGCP said the ITAP is a nationwide program which provides the guidelines and coordinated procedures in preparing and coping with typhoons and other calamities.

ITAP will be used to address emergency procedures on other events which may cause grid disturbances such as tropical depressions, storms, heavy rains, flash floods, earthquakes and tsunami.

Specifically, ITAP lays out specific tasks and assignments per group that would expedite power restoration processes during actual emergencies.

Preparations under the ITAP include, among others, posting of line crews in strategic pre-selected locations to speed up actual deployment, inspection and evaluation of damages on facilities; postponement of all scheduled transmission line and substation shutdowns in the affected areas until such time that the situation has stabilized; and the provision of back-up telecommunication facilities, equipment, vehicles, line materials and hardware necessary for the immediate repair of transmission facilities.

NGCP said under the ITAP, one overall and four regional command centers will oversee and coordinate all restoration efforts and monitor the operational status of all affected transmission lines and substations.

In most cases, temporary power transmission tower structures called Emergency Restoration Systems (ERS) are erected in severely affected areas to immediately restore power. To speed up the energization of crucial lines, some lines are reconfigured to allow the transfer of power load.

The transmission firm also assured that the structural integrity of its steel towers is at par with or ahead of international standards for design methodologies and remains consistent with current practices in other countries.