Additional power lines are needed to allow new generating plants to transmit electricity from their facilities to the end-users.
Visayas grid will be capable of accommodating additional power supply
After two years of delays, two power transmission projects in Cebu are set to be completed by April next year to improve the Visayas grid’s capability to accommodate additional supply from new generating units.
The Calong-Calong-Toledo-Colon Transmission Project, which spans 26 kilometers, will accommodate the entry of the 82-megawatt Toledo Power Co. (TPC) plant and the existing 246-megawatt Cebu Energy Development Corp. (CEDC) plant. Both are coal-fired facilities.
As of November 23 this year, project head Engr. Francisco Robles of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said the transmission line is 95.99 percent complete while the substation is 97.78 percent complete.
The Colon-Toledo Transmission Project (CTTP), a 27.4-kilometer line from the Colon Substation in the City of Naga to Brgy. Talamban in Cebu City, will increase the capacity to transmit electricity from the CEDC plant and the 200-megawatt KEPCO plant to Metro Cebu.
This will provide energy to the Banilad, Mandaue and Mactan Substations, Robles said during the Power 101 seminar organized by the National Grid for the media.
He said the transmission line is 96.13 percent complete while improvements to the substations are 99.02 percent complete.
Both projects were delayed because of right-of-way problems.
Robles said he was confident that both will be finished in five months.
There are three drivers for the creation of new transmission lines, namely: to accommodate new power generation companies, increase load capacity and make sure transmission is reliable, said Engr. Michael Baylosis, principal engineer at the National Grid’s Visayas System Planning Division, Transmission Planning Department.
Baylosis said that apart from the two ongoing projects in Cebu, they have several others in the pipeline and are awaiting approval by the Energy Regulatory Commission.
“We already have a list of proposed projects for 2016 to 2020. This is the fourth regulatory period of NGCP. We have already determined the need of the grid. There are also several projects in the list for Cebu and Central Visayas,” he said.
Plans for the Cebu province include stage two of the Cebu-Negros-Panay 230-kilovolt project, the Magdugo 230-kv, Cebu 230-kv substations and the Laray 230-kv substation.
NGCP also plans to re-conduct the Quiot lines and bundle the Colon-Quiot-Cebu lines. The on-going Bato-Cebu 230 kv Transmission Line project is also part of the list.