ILOILO City – MORE Electric and Power Corporation’s (MORE Power) new and state-of-the-art mobile substation has arrived from Turkey.
The first stand-alone mobile substation in the country, it has the power transformer load capacity of 30 MegaVolt Amperes (MVA) and can be extended up to 36 MVA, and can accommodate five (5) feeder lines, according to Engineer Wilmar Gonzaludo, MORE Power substation project manager.
With the acquisition of the mobile substation, Gonzaludo said, the rehabilitation of old substations that MORE Power inherited from the previous power distributor of Iloilo City is expected to start by the first or second week of January 2023.
The new mobile substation from Turkey-based Aktif Elektroteknik is currently stationed at MORE Power’s Molo substation which will be the first to undergo full rehabilitation.
Gonzaludo, along with MORE Power’s Project Control and Administration supervisor Engineer John Dave Jabatan, and Project Development & Management assistant vice president Engineer Paterno Cabangisan, held a media briefing on the new mobile substation over the weekend.
“We have initial findings sa substations naton nga kon pabay-an lang naton, anytime during the operation basi mag-shutdown. Ma-compromise ang pag-supply sa aton konsumidor. So kinahanglan na gid nga i-rehabilitate,” said Gonzaludo.
Old and obsolete equipment in the existing substations will be replaced.
After the Molo substation, the new mobile substation will be moved to the Mandurriao substation that will be the next to undergo rehabilitation.
The last stop would be the Jaro substation where the mobile substation will be permanently based by the end of 2025.
During the total rehabilitation of all old substations, MORE Power’s mobile substation will ensure reliable electricity supply in the city.
Gonzaludo, however, said the transfer of the load from the old Molo substation to the new mobile substation will be needing eight to 10 hours of shutdown or power interruption.
He assured the public that the mobile substation has enough capacity to shoulder the work of the old substation which is 25 to 30 MVA.
The rehabilitation of old substations is part of MORE Power’s five-year modernization plan.
Gonzaludo said the rehabilitation, once fully completed, will have a big impact on the power distribution system’s stability and reliability, as well as power quality.
The rehabilitation has another component aside from replacing old equipment and structures – 69kV breakers will be added to connect the looping line going to Megaworld Substation.
“We have right now the looping project, nga ang aton sub-transmission lines ma-connect naton. Subong wala ini sang connection. With the looping project, may flexibility na kita,” Gonzaludo explained.
MORE Power’s mobile power substation supplier, Aktif Elektroteknik, was established in 1981 and has over 40 years of manufacturing experience in modernized machinery line like Medium Voltage Air Insulated (AIS) Switchgears, Mobile Substations, Package Substations, and Kiosks.
This is the second mobile substation acquired by MORE Power. The first was a 10MVA mobile substation in 2020 placed at Megaworld (Iloilo Business Park) to address the big demand and unstable voltage of the business district and at the same time stabilize the critical loading condition of Mandurriao Substation.
MORE Power aims to improve the distribution of electricity in Iloilo City by making it more efficient, sufficient and reliable, to lure more investors and better serve their increasing number of consumers./PN
