National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), the country’s grid operator, has expanded its capacity in Mindanao ahead of the entry of new generating power plants that would soon rise in the region.
The additional capacity will address recent voltage fluctuations in Northern Mindanao and the rising power needs of the region’s growing economy.
Thus, NGCP has switched on its newly constructed Aurora-Polanco 138-kiloVolt (kV) transmission line 1 last month and line 2 just this week.
Apart from the Aurora-Polanco 138kV, NGCP is also completing its Mindanao 230kV Backbone project, which aims to further strengthen the entire Mindanao grid upon the entry of new generating plants as well as the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP), which was declared as an Energy Project of National Significance by the Department of Energy. MVIP is slated to be completed by 2020.
The Aurora-Polanco 138kV project is one of NGCP’s initiatives to reinforce power transmission services in the Zamboanga del Norte area.
In the province, three crucial load centers namely Dipolog City, Dapitan City, and the municipality of Polancohave been recording rapid growth in power consumption for the past several years.
Because of growing demand, these areas have been suffering from a recent spate of voltage fluctuations since only an old 69kV transmission line is able to carry power from Aurora in Zamboanga del Sur.
The new 138kV line will not only supplement the old line but pave the way for increased transmission to Zamboanga del Norte, all the way to Misamis Occidental— effectively ensuring the continuous and reliable power supply to the entire area.
NGCP also simultaneously upgraded its Aurora and Polanco substations to accommodate twice the amount of power flowing into its facilities.