To support load growth in Luzon, the country’s major power grid, system operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) successfully brought to commercial operation its newly completed P6.0 billion Mariveles-Hermosa 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission line project.
NGCP reported that the facility’s energization was formally achieved on March 30 this year, with the reinforced transmission line that can fully accommodate the wheeling of about 2,500 megawatts of power capacity mainly from the electric generating facilities in Bataan province.
“The transmission line will expand the existing capacity of the transmission facilities to accommodate more than 2,500MW of incoming generation from the Bataan Peninsula, including the GN Power Dinginin coal-fired power plant and the Mariveles Power Generation Corporation,” NGCP said.
The two generating units of GNPower Dinginin plant, in particular, have aggregate capacity of 1,336MW; while the Mariveles coal plant has 650MW capacity.
NGCP qualified that the newly completed project is part of the concretization of its mandate “to ensure that all capacities are capable of being delivered to load centers across the Philippines.”
The company acknowledged that in project developments in the country’s power supply chain, “it is important that we remain ahead of the curve by ensuring that lines are more than capable of delivering incoming power;” with NGCP adding that it is “doing its part in ensuring energy stability and resiliency, by making sure the power highways are always ready.”
As culled from blueprint, the new Mariveles-Hermosa transmission project required the installation of 49.2-kilometer transmission line that linked Mariveles to Hermosa; and that was complemented by the construction of substations in Alas-asin, Mariveles as well as in Balsik, Hermosa.
NGCP specified that the new Balsik substation in Hermosa “will house 2000 megavolt ampere (MVA),” which is considered as the largest MVA capacity of any NGCP transformer bank to date.
The transmission company similarly indicated that the substation facility in Hermosa still has capability “to expand to up to 4000MVA with the entry of bulk generation in the coming years.”
NGCP emphasized that “the capacity of the new Balsik substation will ensure that more power can be dispatched by the transmission system, and will greatly improve the overall grid reliability and stability of the 500kV network.”
Next in the line-up of critical NGCP projects being pushed to completion are: the Hermosa-San Jose 500kV Transmission Backbone Project in Luzon; the Cebu-Negros-Panay and Cebu-Bohol Interconnection Projects; and the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP), which will enable the sharing of power supply between and among the three main grids.
Specifically for the P52 billion MVIP project, which is due for completion this year, this is touted as the “most awaited” milestone for the entire power sector; because this will finally bring to light the country’s long-time dream of having a nationally-connected power grid.