TransCo to become Mindoro’s system operator by Q3

MANILA, Philippines — State-run National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) is targeting to commence its stand-alone operation as Mindoro’s system operator by the third quarter.

TransCo said a dispatch program it has developed would be on test run operation for calibration and finetuning within the first quarter as small island grid system operation (SIGSO) personnel familiarize themselves with the Mindoro grid system.

It said peer-to-peer operations with Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative (Omeco) and Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative (Ormeco) would commence in the second quarter.

“TransCo is looking forward to begin its new mandate as Mindoro’s independent system operator and hopes for a smooth transition while we are still fine-tuning our operations,” TransCo officer-in-charge and vice president for transmission management group Dinna Dizon said.

The Department of Energy (DOE) in February 2021 issued a memorandum mandating TransCo to act as the off-grid system operator for any small grid or off-grid power system with more than one power supplier.

The DOE thereafter released a department circular to spell-out the guidelines for TransCo’s designation as system operator.

In July last year, TransCo sealed a Memorandum of Agreement with Omeco and Ormeco to act as system operator in Mindoro grid, with the hopes of providing permanent and long-time solution to address the lingering power crisis in the provinces of Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro.

“We seek the support of our stakeholders, including the public, as the process of making sustainable and long-term improvements to the power situation cannot happen overnight. Nevertheless, we are working together with local power sector players to pursue the shared goal of providing better service in the island of Mindoro,” Dizon said.

TransCo last month concluded the back-to-back ceremonial rites that marked the deployment of SIGSO personnel in Mindoro Island.

TransCo engineers were stationed to Oriental and Occidental Mindoro in preparation for TransCo’s assumption as system operator in Mindoro Island.

As small island grid system operator, TransCo will oversee the control and protection of power system to prevent outages and system collapse, perform the scheduling and dispatch of power generation for least-cost electricity services, and provide operational coordination of multi-stakeholder power system.

TransCo will also operate and control the Mindoro grid system frequency, voltage and power flows.

It will likewise assist the cooperatives in updating their respective island power development plan that will ensure adequate power supply and reserve capacity.

Aside from Mindoro, TransCo last year said it is working on plans to operate as off-grid system operator in Palawan, Catanduanes and Marinduque.

TransCo is a government-owned-and-controlled corporation operating under the DOE. It is the owner of the country’s power transmission assets, which is managed and operated by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines under a Congressional franchise and a concession agreement.