NGCP energizes Lumban Bay line in Batangas

MANILA, Philippines - The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has energized its Lumban-Bay 230-kilovolt line in Batangas early this month to accommodate additional capacity from incoming power plants.

NGCP president and CEO Henry Sy Jr. said the line is crucial in the area where there are three power plants – the 1,000 megawatt Sta. Rita, 500 MW San Lorenzo natural gas plants of the Lopez Group and the 1,200 Ilijan natural gas plant of Kepco Philippines.

Sy said the Lumban – Bay line was energized through the Lumban substation at 1:10 a.m. on March 3. Thus, by 3 a.m., NGCP was able to loop the line to the Luzon grid.

“With this upgrade, we will be able to accommodate additional capacity from incoming power plants in the area,” Sy said.

The energization of the Lumban – Bay line is part of NGCP’s commitment to the Department of Energy (DOE) to expedite projects that will ensure maximized transmission capacity during the summer of 2015, Sy said.

NGCP is a privately owned corporation in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s power grid. It transmits high-voltage electricity through “power superhighways” that include the interconnected system of transmission lines, towers, substations, and related assets.

The consortium holds the 25-year concession contract to operate the country’s power transmission network and is comprised of Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp., Calaca High Power Corp., and the State Grid Corp. of China (SGCC) as technical partner.