NGCP starts P1.6B South Luzon projects

Manila, Philippines -  The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has started its P1.6-billion upgrade of transmission facilities in Southern Luzon.

The expansion programs that will be completed early next year will cater to the growing bulk demand in the area and increase the reliability of power supply, the company said.

Specifically, the country’s transmission service provider is conducting the P1.13-billion upgrade of the Kalayaan-Bay, Laguna 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line.

“This is part of the transmission service provider’s efforts to maintain the N-1 provision for the existing Kalayaan-Bay corridor that could allow all possible generation dispatch scenarios for the associated power plants,” NGCP said.

N-1 contingency refers to the ability to withstand the loss of a major system component with minimal disruption to the grid.

The Kalayaan-Bay line helps deliver power to Taytay substation.

“It also complements the Biñan-Muntinlupa upgrading project by strengthening this alternate corridor for the generated power coming from the natural gas plants and the Makban geothermal power plant,” NGCP said.

The Kalayaan-Bay project involves the construction of four aluminum steel-reinforced conductors and the installation of up to 18 additional 230-kV power circuit breakers.

The transmission lines provide the shortest route from generation sources like the 600-MW Calaca coal-fired plant, the 1,000-MW Sta. Rita natural gas plant and the 747-MW Tiwi-Makban geothermal plants.

Meanwhile, NGCP allotted P515 million to increase the capacity of substations in Batangas and Bay that will cater to increasing requirements of bulk power customers.

“The P515-million project is included in the Luzon Substation Expansion III. Started in December 2011, the project is scheduled to be completed on the first quarter of 2013,” NGCP said.

Specifically, two units of 300-megavolt ampere (MVA) transformers will replace the two existing 100-MVA transformers in the Batangas substation.

One unit of a 100-MVA transformer will also be installed at the Bay substation, NGCP said.

Connected customers in the substations are expected to grow by more than two percent in the next five years, data from the NGCP showed.

For instance, growth in big customers like Atlantic Gulf & Pacific Co. is 3.91 percent, 3.78 percent for San Miguel Foods Inc., 2.33 percent for Puyat Steel Corp., 2.49 percent for Keppel Philippine Shipyard and 3.26 percent for Republic Cement, data from NGCP’s Planning and Engineering Group showed.

The NGCP recovers its investments through fixed rates added to consumers’ electricity bills.

The NGCP allotted roughly P100 billion in capital spending for the creation of new transmission lines and substations, and the expansion of existing facilities nationwide in the next 10 years.