ILOILO City – Power distribution utilities have urged the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to enhance its transmission line system to avert frequent and massive power blackouts.
Engineer Bernard Bailey Del Castillo, vice president for Network Development and Operations Group at MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) in Iloilo City, mentioned the challenges in identifying the exact cause of the blackout that started on Jan. 2.
He emphasized the necessity for NGCP to review and harmonize protection coordination from power plants through transmission systems to distribution utilities.
This coordination, he said, is crucial to prevent issues like the recent blackouts.
At a meeting with the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Region 6 on Jan. 3, Del Castillo also raised concerns about whether NGCP had implemented the recommendations made in April 2023 following a three-day blackout.
He believes that implementing these recommendations could reduce blackouts on Panay Island.
A long-term solution includes completing NGCP’s Cebu-Negros-Panay backbone project (CNP3), which entails linking Negros and Cebu via an overhead line from Bacolod City to San Carlos City and a submarine cable to Toledo City, Cebu.
This project involves constructing a 238-kilometer, 230 kV capacity transmission line connecting Cebu, Negros, and Panay, and includes the expansion of several substations.
Engineer Miguel A. Paguntalan, Jr., general manager of Iloilo 1 Electric Cooperative, Inc. (ILECO 1), stressed the importance of NGCP providing accurate information for better preparedness.
He insisted on a permanent solution to prevent future occurrences.
Paguntalan noted the similarities between the current situation and the blackout in April 2023, indicating a lack of an effective solution.
He urged NGCP to determine the cause and devise a permanent fix and suggested consulting with the Panay Energy Development Corporation (PEDC) and Palm Concepcion Power Corporation (PCPC) to eliminate a potential “blame game.”
PEDC and PCPC are power generators based in Panay Island.
Paguntalan appealed to consumers to conserve energy to stabilize the power supply and to understand the roles of NGCP, power plants, and distributors like ILECO 1 in preventing future issues.
Engineer Jose Redmond Roquios, general manager of ILECO II, also stressed the need for NGCP to expedite the upgrade of their lines, particularly the connections between Panay Island, Negros, and Cebu.
He suggested amending the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (“EPIRA”) to allow the government to establish power plants that can provide additional supply in case of power plant failures.
Roquios explained that due to the increasing power demand on Panay Island, the current power plants struggle to meet supply needs during outages, making a government-backed power plant on Panay Island a valuable addition./PN
