NGCP, Chinese partners spend over P17B on Phl power grid

BEIJING, Peoples Republic of China – The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and its partner State Grid of China Corp. (SGCC) have poured in over P17 billion since 2009 for the improvement of the power transmission highway in the Philippines.

“This was equivalent to an additional 4,325 megavolt amperes (MVA) in substation capacity and 480 circuit kilometers in transmission line length. Aside from major engineering projects, 46 projects for better operation and maintenance were also carried out to improve the facilities,” NGCP said.

SGCC, NGCP’s technical partner, has vowed to continue to provide modern operation and maintenance (O&M), planning and engineering (P&E), and system operations (SO) strategies with its Filipino counterparts.

SGCC vice president and NGCP chairman Du Zhigang pointed out that the state-run SGCC is not only considered a world leader in power network construction, operation, management, and core technology research and development, but is also internationally recognized for its pioneering initiatives and vast experience in the field of ultra-high voltage power grid systems.

In February this year, SGCC turned over four smart grid technical documents to NGCP as part of the companies’ partnership on smart grid technology.

SGCC is the largest public utility in the world with a customer base of over a billion people. Its core business is the construction and operation of electric power networks covering 26 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities that represent 88 percent of China’s territory.

In 2010, its total assets were valued at $321.1 billion while revenues amounted to $233.7 billion. SGCC was ranked seventh in the Fortune Global 500 in 2011.

In 2007, SGCC joined a Chinese-Philippine consortium and won the bid for a 25-year franchise to operate the Philippine national transmission network. The franchise was granted by the Philippine Congress in 2008.

The start of NGCP’s operations in 2009 boosted SGCC’s efforts to develop its overseas investment.

“SGCC has implemented a strategy of globalization and going abroad to explore international business development,” Du said.

He said SGCC considers its business development in the Philippines as a prime example of its continuous efforts to enhance its international competence. SGCC’s business venture in NGCP remains the largest Chinese investment in the Philippines.

Since NGCP and SGCC started working together, he said many changes have been implemented in terms of systematically improving operations and management to build a stronger power grid.

“The operational performance of NGCP, and the power grid it operates, is considered stable. The quality and reliability of power supply has been developed and upgraded,” he said.

He said most notable among the recently completed projects is the replacement of the 500-kv transformers in the San Jose Substation in Bulacan. NGCP replaced 12 units of transformers, thereby resolving the North and South Luzon power congestion which limited the transmission of Metro Manila’s power supply requirements.