NGCP expects 500-kV Pagbilao project toease Quezon province’s transmission ills in 2 years
By
Lenie Lectura Business Mirror
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October 11, 2018
THE National Grid Corp. of thePhilippines (NGCP) expects the P4.016-billion Pagbilao 500-kiloVolt(kV) substation project to be completed in March 2020.
The grid operator said thesubstation project would not only address transmission issues in Quezonprovince but also accommodate incoming power generation. The latter includesthe 420-megawatt Pagbilao Coal-Fired Power Plant Expansion, 500-MW SanBuenaventura Power Coal-Fired Power Plant and the 600-MW Energy World Corp.Combined-Cycle Power Plant, among others.
“With over 1,500 MW of power cominginto the grid once these plants are online, we need a new gateway of power inthe Quezon province, which can fully accommodate all these,” an NGCP statementsaid. “The Pagbilao 500-kV Substation will help ease voltage and load issues ofnearby substations like Tayabas and further enhance transmission of power not,only in Quezon province but in the entire Luzon grid, as well.”
Along with the construction of thenew substation, the project will also involve the expansion of the existingTayabas 500-kV substation. This expansion will address the problem ofoverloading of the Tayabas 500/230kV transformers and fault-level issues.
NGCP just completed a series ofpublic consultations with the local government of Pagbilao and the communitiesto be affected by the project. These talks were initiated by NGCP to presentthe project, gain support from the communities and to address any issues thepublic may have, especially in terms of right-of-way acquisition and thepossible effect of the project to the peoples’ livelihood.
“Should there be no further delays,the project is set to commence construction by the last quarter of the year,”it said.
The NGCP also appealed for thepublic’s support.
“We hope that with the cooperationof the LGU [local government unit] other related government agencies and hostcommunities, we will be able to fast-track the project’s implementation andenable a stronger power-transmission backbone in Southern Luzon,” the companysaid.
The NGCP is a Filipino-led,privately owned company in charge of operating, maintaining and developing thecountry’s power grid, led by majority shareholders Henry Sy Jr. and RobertCoyiuto Jr.
