Project delays due to lockdown may put power supply in jeopardy, says NGCP

Delays and suspensions of projects caused by lockdown restrictions are undermining the reliability of power transmission and generation facilities, which could lead to outa­ges, according to National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

NGCP, in a hearing conduc­ted by the Joint Congressional Energy Commission on Friday, told lawmakers that these measures included policies of both foreign and Philippine governments as well as local government rules that disagreed with those of Malacañang.

Ronald Dylan Concepcion, assistant corporate secretary of NGCP, represented the grid operator in the hearing.

Concepcion said the enhanced community quarantine had caused delays in project implementation, which would result in facilities’ deficiency to cope with the anticipated grid requirements.

He was referring to several projects that were intended to help make the transmission system be resilient from increased load when electricity demand—slashed by one-third in the Luzon grid alone—eventually increased when lockdown has been lifted.

“Some of the equipment to be used are currently delayed in delivery due to implemented ECQ restrictions,” Concepcion said. “Also, technical consultants that are tasked to commission or restore critical equipment face travel restrictions.”

According to NGCP, delayed projects may introduce system operating limits that could lead to automatic or manual load dropping, which means power plants may go offline and electricity supply will be unavailable in some areas.

The company added that a buildup of lags in preventive and maintenance works “may result in increased nonavailability of service that may eventually affect grid security and market operations.

“These are critical devi­ces that could affect the monitoring of the system operator [which is NGCP], if not immediately replaced or repaired,” Concepcion said.

He said NGCP had also deferred test on the grid’s capability to accommodate new power plants that will go online, even as growth in demand calls for additional supply.

Further, the unavailability of foreign contractors due to health and safety measures amid new coronavirus disease pandemic have resulted in postponement of power plant maintenance.

This “will affect the availability of generation capacity especially if the [maintenance activities] will be rescheduled during peak months after the lift of the quarantine,” Concepcion said.

“This will also lead to congestion of maintenance activities not only for plants but also for transmission lines and substation equipment,” he added.

NGCP also lamented incidences when some local governments did not honor travel permits for their employees issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases response as the local government units implemented their own quarantine rules.

This prevented NGCP staff from conducting repair and restoration works and other technical activities such as the inspection of transmission line hot spots, vegetation that might be overgrown, and energization of new customer connections. INQ