By Raymart Escopel
THE National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) addressed the recent supply deficiency situation in the Visayas through its High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) submarine cable.
The Grid implemented sharing of power between Luzon and Visayas which helped electric cooperatives (ECs) and distribution utilities (DUs) deliver power to household consumers despite the power supply insufficiency.
Using submarine cables connecting Luzon and Visayas Grids, NGCP was able to improve the supply situation in the Visayas as it allowed power flow to and from the two island groups.
The said process allows ECs and DUs in the Visayas to not experience rotating brownouts and outages as the excess power supply from Luzon grid was transferred to the Visayas grid, leading it to normalize the power supply with as much as 117 megawatts (MW) of power flowing to and from the two grids during the evening peak of May 20.
The Visayas grid went on Red Alert on May 19 as it experienced generation deficiency due to the emergency shutdown of three power plants, leading to a total loss of 200 MW generation capacity.
With the said incident, NGCP president Henry Sy, Jr. cited the importance and benefits of connecting to the transmission grid.
He said the grid can import supply from Luzon if there is supply deficiency in the Visayas, just like recent events.
Sy added that grid connection also makes it possible for consumers to enjoy low generation charges through cheaper energy sources, such as a wholesale electricity spot market.
āLimited sourcing of electricity from only one or two generation companies leads to high generation cost because of the captive nature of the market,ā he explained.
Sy concluded that connecting to the grids gives customers the option for better prices and the alternative that if one supplier breaks down, the customers the power to choose./PN
