NGCP backbone transmission project launched in Bohol

CORELLA, BOHOL, Philippines — The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) yesterday launched the Bohol Backbone Transmission Project with the holding of the groundbreaking and time capsule-laying ceremonies for its 5.5-hectare substation site in barangay Sambog of this town.

The project involves the expansion of Ubay substation and the construction of the new Corella substation with power system protection.

Governor Edgar Chatto said the project will ensure stable and reliable power supply in Bohol to serve the growing demand as the development framework of the provincial government has been expanded to cover the ICT industry and the BPO sector, in addition to agriculture and tourism as economic drivers.

By 2015, more demand is expected with the new airport and new ports rising in the province and NGCP’s backbone transmission will ensure a stable power supply capacity, said Chatto who also assured NGCP that the LGUs here will help protect such facilities.

NGCP president and chief operating officer Henry Sy Jr., in a message relayed by the firm’s senior technical adviser Guillermo Redoblado, recognized that a stronger and more reliable power grid is needed to efficiently and safely transmit electricity from the power plants to the local distribution utilities and even to the ordinary household consumers.

The Bohol Backbone Transmission Project will bring more reliable power transmission services to 60 barangays in the towns of Balilihan, Carmen, Catigbian, Corella, Cortes, Dagohoy, Sagbayan, San Miguel and Ubay. Its new 100-megawatt ampere (MVA) power transformer will be installed at Corella substation. A 95-kilometer overhead transmission lines, carrying 138 kilovolts utilizing steel tower structures, will be installed to connect the two substations.

Both substation and transmission line components of the project are expected to be completed in January 2012. The project aims to accommodate load growth in support of the socio-economic development of the province; improve voltage levels in Bohol as prescribed by the Philippine Grid Code; and enhance system reliability, provide operational flexibility, and maintain power quality delivered to electricity users.

Sy said he is confident that the more reliable power transmission services in Bohol will attract more investments and create job opportunities in the province. “The project will not only benefit Bohol but also the whole Visayas in the long run. This will reinforce the high-voltage transmission backbone and ensure that the power grid remains secure and reliable,” he said in written message that Redoblado read during the program.

NGCP is a privately-owned corporation in charge of operating and maintaining the country’s power grid and electricity superhighways. The groundbreaking ceremony for the Corella Substation was attended also by Corella Mayor Jose Nicanor Tocmo, representatives from distribution utilities, directly connected customers and project contractors Xian Electric Engineering Company, represented by its country manager Zhou Xiaoan, and Hyosung Corporation represented by its general manager Jeong Pyo Hong.

The 34 landowners who sold their properties at P197 per square meters to give way for the NGCP project were also recognized during the ceremony for their contribution to its realization. - THE FREEMAN