NGCP restores Visayas sub-transmission lines

MANILA, Philippines - The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), the grid operator, has restored all transmission and sub-transmission lines and substations in the Visayas affected by Tropical Storm Amang.

In an advisory, NGCP said it has completed the restoration on Jan. 21.

NGCP assured the public that it is ready to conduct similar disaster management activities to ensure reliable power transmission services.

“The corporation is also continuously taking necessary preparations and precautions to minimize the impact of succeeding tropical storms and disasters on NGCP operations and facilities,” it said.

Some of the transmission facilities toppled by the storm are the Nasaug-San Isidro 69 kilovolt line, the Taft-Borongan 69 kv line and Palanas Cara-Catarman 69-kv Line all in the Visayas region.

Among the last to be restored are the transmission facilities servicing the areas of Samar 1 Electric Cooperative (Samelco) and the Northern Samar Electric Cooperative (Norsamelco) in Eastern Visayas.

Affected towns included Pagsanjan, Gandara, Tarangnan, San Jorge, Matuguinao for the Samelco service areas and the  Catubig, Gamay, Lao-ang, Pambuhan, Palapag, Las Navas, Bobon, Catarman, Mondragon, San Roque, Rosario, San Jose, Lope de Vega, Allen, Victoria, San Isidro and Lavezares for the Norsamelco service areas.

NGCP said the loss of power may be caused not just by affected transmission facilities of NGCP but those facilities operated by local distribution utilities or electric cooperatives. Specific cities and municipalities affected by the power interruptions are determined by concerned distribution utilities, unless the outage affects the entire franchise area, NGCP said.

It also noted that necessary preparations and precautions have been implemented to minimize the impact of the typhoon on NGCP operation and facilities.

NGCP is a privately owned corporation in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s power grid. It transmits high-voltage electricity through “power superhighways” that include the interconnected system of transmission lines, towers, substations, and related assets. The consortium holds the 25-year concession to operate the country’s power transmission network and is comprised of Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp., led by Henry Sy, Jr., Calaca High Power Corporation, led by Robert Coyiuto, Jr., and the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) as technical partner.