NGCP completes backbone project in Visayas ahead of schedule

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has completed a backbone project in the Cebu-Negros-Panay (CNP) area four days ahead of schedule, according to the Department of Energy.

DOE Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara said the 230 kilovolt Stage 3 backbone project was completed on March 27, four days earlier than the end-March commitment made by NGCP.

“The important thing about the completion of the CNP backbone at 230 kV is that there are now two possible routes to go to (the secluded) islands,” Guevara said.

According to Guevara, the capacity of the CNP ranges from 380 to 400 megawatts (MW).

On the other hand, energy demand in Panay ranges usually from 350 to 400 MW, but falls to 280 MW during weekends.

Aside from Panay, the city of Iloilo is also benefiting from the backbone project.

“They have already completed it and it’s already being used by us, and we’re very happy with that,” Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas said.

“It has been delayed so many administrations ago, but it finally happened and it’s continuously being improved,” he said.

Last month, the DOE said the Panay grid would be improved “in less than a month” after the completion of CNP and the maintenance works at the power plant of Palm Concepcion Power Corp. (PCPC).

Parts of Panay and Negros islands plunged into darkness last month due to the unplanned shutdown of the power units of the Panay Energy Development Corp. and the maintenance shutdown of PCPC’s plant.

However, PCPC said its 135-MW power plant in Panay would not be synchronized with the grid by March 30, the scheduled last day of its preventative maintenance service that started on Feb. 18.

PCPC said the generator sustained “stator insulation damage,” following an inspection by the General Electric service contractor.

“This issue will be rectified by replacing the damaged parts to ensure the power plant’s long-term viability,” PCPC said .

Aside from the March blackout, Panay experienced a three-day outage earlier in January.