Perez lauds Transco move to gain ISO status

Energy Secretary Vincent S. Perez has lauded the National Transmission Corp. (Transco) for its continuing adherence to a quality management system.

"Transco continues to improve its processes and its operational efficiency and I commend its commitment to put the ISO assurance of quality management in its mandate to provide reliable and affordable electricity to the country," he said.

Transco president Alan T. Ortiz said the process to secure the certification for all the major units has shifted to full gear with the recent awarding of the ISO 9001:2000 seal to the Visayas operations and maintenance (O&M) group, the first regional center to gain such a certification.

The ISO certification covers the operations and maintenance of transmission lines and substations in the four districts of the region: Western Visayas (Iloilo and Panay), Central Visayas (Cebu and Bohol), Eastern Visayas (Leyte and Samar), and Negros (Occidental and Oriental).

"This is a significant achievement because we got the certification for a regional operation. This is definitely a step up as our previous ISO certifications were given to districts and therefore had smaller areas of operation," Ortiz said.

He said since the Visayas O&M group pursued a regional certification, it required strong coordination from all the four districts in the Visayas. "Getting this certification speaks of the immense commitment that our people put into getting this added feather in our cap."

Transco’s Mt. Province and Ilocos Districts, both in Northern Luzon, were the first O&M units to gain the ISO certification.

The System Operations (SO) Group, which is responsible for the efficient dispatch of power plants in the system, bagged its first international certification in October 2001 and its upgraded certification in February last year.

Ortiz said it is the first SO group in the ASEAN region to carry the ISO certification, which embodies the international consensus on good management practice characterized by customer satisfaction and quality service.

The Geneva-based ISO is a non-governmental worldwide federation of 147 countries committed to tearing down barriers to global trade.