Concessionaire-firm National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) claimed that its overall performance has improved, compared to the time when the transmission system was still operated by the government.

In a statement to the media, NGCP said, its “overall performance in operating the grid from 2009 to 2022 was significantly better as indicated by improved performance indicators compared to when the grid was run by the government from 2000 to 2008.”

“NGCP continues to improve the performance of the power grid since taking over as the country’s transmission service provider in 2009,” the statement added.

It was in January 2009, through a privatization process carried out by state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM), that the government had awarded the 25-year concession deal to NGCP.

Tapping the private sector concessionaire was aimed at improving and expanding the country’s power transmission highway according to the transforming needs of power systems.

Compared to the relatively traditional grid it took over in 2009, NGCP’s function in managing and operating the power system also requires revolutionary changes so it can support the "energy transition agenda" being advanced by the Marcos administration.

Like what is happening in most power grids globally, the system operator will need to ensure efficient and reliable transmission facilities for the grid integration of massive renewables. This requires mammoth investments to be completed on time and as they are needed for the wheeling of capacity from power plants.

The figures cited by the transmission firm are based on a report (as of 2022) that it filed with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) underpinning its rate reset application – and that will be subject to review and validation by the industry regulator. The last time NGCP’s performance had undergone regulatory review was in 2015 corresponding to its last rate rebasing.

NGCP said one of the key indicators of what it contends as performance improvement is frequency of tripping (FOT), which measures the occurrence of high-voltage transmission lines tripping that resulted in forced outages for every 100 circuit-kilometers.

“NGCP’s performance shows a significant decrease in tripping incidents across all three major island grids,” it conveyed. For instance, the average FOT logged in the Luzon grid had been pared  from 6.4732 in 2000-2008 to 1.3386 in 2009-2022.

Further, in the Visayas grid, FOT events had been down from 6.6530 to 0.9508; and from 8.0788 to 1.3285 for Mindanao grid.

“Since NGCP took over transmission operations in 2009, we performed over and above our targets year-on-year. This is a result of the company’s commitment to deliver on our mandate to provide quality transmission services. We assure our stakeholders that NGCP’s ongoing projects and programs seek only to further improve our services,” it indicated.

The company similarly vouched that it “improved the capability of the grid to mitigate the impact of power interruptions to overall grid operations, which are measured by the system availability (SA) indicator and system interruption severity index (SISI).”

NGCP data further showed that its system availability for Luzon has been 99.316-percent; and it was at 99.6538-percent in the Visayas; and Mindanao at 99.7206%.

“For the SISI, Luzon only averaged 10.7236 system minutes of interruptions in 2009-2022 compared to 13.8978 from 2000-2008; in Visayas, 47.3318 system minutes of interruption during NGCP time from an average of 176.3350 system minutes pre-privatization; and 9.124 system minutes from 10.434 in Mindanao,” it stressed.

The company added “these indicators are the most tangible proof of our performance felt by end-users. Our improved numbers are attributed to the continuous upgrading and expansion projects such as wood pole replacement, substation additions, capacitor bank projects, and new transmission lines, effectively reinforcing the stability and reliability of the grid.”

It further stated “all three grids have significantly reduced, if not completely eliminated, violations on frequency and voltage limits.”

The transmission firm similarly noted  that its “average voltage limit compliance (VLC) improved across all three grids, while frequency limit compliance (FLC) improved in both Luzon and Visayas, generally ensuring stability of the transmission grid.”