Transco sets P800-M expansion in Ilocos

VIGAN, Ilocos Sur–The National Transmission Corp. (Transco), the company that operates the transmission facilities of the National Power Corp. (Napocor), will embark on an P800 million expansion program to increase its capacity in the Ilocos region.

Northern Luzon Transco Area I manager Benigno A. Ramos, said in an interview, the expansion program here would enable Transco to tap the additional power that will be generated by new and renewable energy projects in Region I.

The program, Ramos said, would allow Transco to put up more transmission facilities in the province. "We are in the process of firming up plans to construct a 230kv transmission line from the San Esteban substation to the Laoag substation," Ramos said.

The Transco official said that if everything pushes through as scheduled, the transmission project is expected to be completed by 2005.

Among the projects to be supported by the transmission line expansion would be those of the wind power projects planned to be put up in this province by several government and private entities.

Specifically, he said the proposed line would transport the power that will be generated by wind farms in the Burgos and Bangui towns in Ilocos Norte which have been identified by surveys as excellent sources of wind-powered electricity.

Northwind Power Development Corp., he said, is posed to construct a wind farm in Bangui by early next year. The project is due for commercial operation in 2004.

The PNOC-Energy Development Corp. (EDC), the geothermal arm of state-owned Philippine National Oil Co., is also building a $54-million wind farm in the town of Burgos. The project involves the installation of 56 units of 750 kilowatt turbine generators.

The government has been pushing for several programs that would harness the power potential of renewable sources as wind and solar power.

This effort is part of the initiative to reduce the use of fossil fuels and dependence to imported fuel and stabilize the country’s electricity supply by diversifying power sources.