NGCP all set for Panitan-Nabas line upgrade

Regulators have given National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) permission to upgrade one of the major transmission facilities that sustained heavy damage from Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”

The country’s transmission grid operator said it needed to spend P933.775 million in capital investment to increase the capacity of the Panitan-Nabas 138 kilovolt (kV) line to transmit energy and to increase the line’s wind velocity resistance to 270 kilometers per hour (kph) from 240kph. This is about the same intensity as the winds brought by supertyphoon Yolanda in November 2013.

In NGCP’s application with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), it said the line upgrade covered the construction of new steel tower structures which conform to new designs for supertyphoon-resilient transmission facilities. New transmission towers that will replace temporary ones will be erected in new locations and built in a way that enhances stability but also makes it less likely for transmission lines to be reached or damaged by tall trees and other vegetation.

It may be recalled that when some of the towers along the Panitan-Nabas 138kV transmission line were toppled due to Yolanda, NGCP made repairs and erected temporary towers. However, NGCP said, such towers must be replaced by new ones with better resistance to strong winds and must be located in safer areas.

NGCP reported earlier that it had been having right of way issues in places where residents, deliberately or not, plant trees and other vegetation directly under transmission lines such that they become a hazard (power lines may be cut or damaged by falling trees or entangled in branches).

Being an archipelagic country with 7,100 islands located at the so called “typhoon alley of the world,” the Philippines is exposed to very strong winds especially during the passage of tropical cyclones, NGCP said. Citing reports from the weather bureau, NGCP said that, over the years, the Philippines would likely experience more typhoons with stronger winds.

The new towers and related structures will also support the use of power conductors with higher capacity. As such, they will increase the energy transfer capacity of Panitan-Nabas 138 kV Line from 100 MWto 180 MW, NGCP said.

The ERC approved NGCP’s proposed upgrade and directed the private transmission concessionaire to conduct competitive bidding for the purchase of major materials in the implementation of the proposed projects.

The contract for the supply of materials for the proposed projects will be assigned to qualified suppliers and contractors following a competitive bidding and selection process.