BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – The long-delayed 23-kilovolt (kV) Cebu-Negros-Panay (CNP) backbone project stage 3 is expected to be completed in two weeks.
The Department of Energy (DOE) reported to Mayor Jerry Treñas that the power transmission project being undertaken by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is now 97.44 percent complete.
Hence, it is set to be fully finished by the end of March, the DOE assured energy stakeholders during their meeting on March 7.
The completion of the transmission project is seen to upgrade the capacity of the existing submarine cable and improve sharing of excess power generation from the rest of the grid towards Negros and Panay islands.
Mayor Treñas, in a statement, said he called for a follow-up meeting with the power stakeholders in his office on Thursday, March 21, to finalize the agreement during their last meeting on March 7.
Officials from the DOE, NGCP, Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power), Panay Energy Development Corporation (PEDC), and Palm Concepcion Power Corporation (PCPC) are expected to attend the meeting.
“This will ensure the follow-up through of discussions made last meeting to ensure the stability of power,” said Treñas.
The city mayor said the CNP backbone project is due to be completed as scheduled and that the ancillary power services are being finalized.
On March 7, Treñas convened the officials from the energy sector, local government units and the business community, and discussed the power situation in Panay Island.
The focus of the discussion was the existing limitations of the Panay-Negros Grid Interconnection between E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental and Barotac Viejo, Iloilo.
The Visayas grid is one of the three main power grids in the Philippines, alongside the Luzon and Mindanao grids.
It covers the Visayas region, which includes the islands of Panay, Negros, Cebu, Leyte, and Samar, among others.
In his presentation during the energy forum, MORE Power president and CEO Roel Castro said existing limitations of the Panay grid make it more susceptible to grid blackouts.
These limitations include insufficient power supply; inadequate protection coordination settings between NGCP, power plants and distribution utilities; and delayed completion of Cebu-Negros-Panay Interconnection, which limits the capacity of power import of Panay from Negros grid thru the existing 138kV Negros-Panay submarine cable that resulted to long duration Panay grid blackout.
Castro said the ancillary services or standby reserve of NGCP for the Visayas from Cebu could not augment in Panay during a blackout due to the absence of an N-1 or alternate grid connection in Panay Island.
He said the short-term solutions to the present situation include the completion of the 230kV CNP backbone project stage 3 which could import power from Mindanao-Luzon grid interconnection using the 230kV Transmission Line.
Castro also stressed that the NGCP should implement the Undervoltage Load Shedding (UVLS), which will serve as protection coordination among power plants, grid operator and electric utilities to eliminate undervoltage.
The long-term solution, he said, includes the planned Luzon-Mindoro-Panay grid interconnection that would significantly improve the reliability of the Panay grid.
Likewise, he said the Negros grid will have the capability to import additional capacity from the Luzon mainland grid through the Panay interconnection./PN
