NGCP inks deal with Chinese research facility

MANILA, Philippines - The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), the country’s   transmission highway operator, has signed an agreement with the Stat Nuclear Electric Power Planning Design and Research Institute   (SNPDRI), a leading research facility on transmission and substation design in China, to improve power transmission in the Philippines.      

“The memorandum of understanding aims to establish a strategic   cooperation between the research institute and the Philippine grid operator in terms of engineering design and construction of future   transmission lines and substation projects,” NGCP said yesterday.     

The MOU is good for three years and is expected to help both parties   deal with current issues and advancements in electric power   technologies, said NGCP president and chief executive officer Henry   Sy Jr.     

He said this was a very timely undertaking as NGCP is in the process of rehabilitating transmission facilities in the Visayas, which were severely damaged by Super Typhoon Yolanda.     

“We are hopeful that with our combined technical know-how, NGCP can   improve and strengthen the transmission backbone in the said area to   withstand future calamities of greater magnitude and intensity,” he said.      

NGCP’s chief administrative officer Anthony Almeda and engineering head Rico Vega, and SNPDRI’s Zhang Suoqing signed the MOU on Dec. 16 while Sy and head of the Chinese delegation Gai Qiqing witnessed   the signing.     

Yolanda damaged most of NGCP’s facilities in areas hit by the typhoon but as of Dec. 24, NGCP said restoration works are almost   complete.

Furthermore, NGCP said it was also able to connect the Tongonan  Geothermal Power Plant (TGPP) to the grid with the energization of the TGPP-Ormoc 138-kV transmission line on Dec. 18.  The plant supplies 112 megawatts to the Visayas Grid.     

The Tongonan Plant is operated by Green Core Inc., a subsidiary of   Energy Development Corporation, a Lopez-owned geothermal company.     

Another Lopez-owned power company First Gen Corp., meanwhile, disclosed yesterday that Unit 60 of its San Lorenzo Combined Cycle Power Plant is back in commercial operations after a fire hit its main   transformer in May.

Operations commenced on Dec. 26 after the completion of “net   dependable capacity tests” conducted on the entire plant.