NGCP expansion gives Leyte, Samar more reliable power supply

The operator of the country’s electricity distribution backbone has completed the expansion of its transmission network in Eastern Visayas with the addition of a major line and the upgrade of two substations, the company said Friday.

In a statement, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said it has completed Line 2 of the Ormoc-Babatngon 138-kiloVolt (kV) transmission line, which is a crucial addition to its Eastern Visayas portfolio.

Line 2 of this line was successfully energized in December, reinforcing power transmission delivery in the Leyte and Samar provinces.

NGCP said that with the energization of the second circuit, the transmission services in the area would now become more reliable, while prolonged power interruptions would be minimized or avoided altogether.

Before the second circuit was energized, the line was originally only a single circuit.

Thus, outages along the line, planned or unplanned, had resulted in a loss of power for all Samar provinces, which rely heavily on the power supply from other islands.

NGCP also upgraded the Ormoc and Babatngon substations to serve the increased capacity of the line.

The project, with an Energy Regulatory Commission-approved project cost of P697.6 million, paves the way for a stronger transmission corridor from geothermal plants and other generating capacities in Leyte and Samar islands.

The Ormoc-Babatngon line serves five customers, notably the Leyte Electric Cooperative Inc. II (Leyeco II), Samar Electric Cooperative Inc. I and II (Samelco I and II), Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative Inc. (Esamelco), and Northern Samar Electric Cooperative Inc. (Norsamelco), which cover parts of Leyte and the provinces of Samar, Eastern Samar and Northern Samar.

“It is part of NGCP’s commitment to continually upgrade and improve the country’s transmission network, especially with the increasing demand for power year on year,” the company said.

“The energization of the second circuit of the Ormoc-Babatngon 138kV transmission line will greatly benefit our customers in Eastern Visayas,” it added. “Our customers can be assured that we are working on more projects to improve our network nationwide and deliver quality services to our people.”

NGCP is a Filipino-led, privately owned company in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s power grid, led by majority shareholders Henry Sy Jr. and Robert Coyiuto Jr.  /kga