To prevent service disruptions arising from technical glitch in the operations of the country’s electricity network, system operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has strongly called for a "holistic power planning" that will link all systems through the power supply chain.

The system operator stated that “the energy sector is an interconnected system among generators, the transmission network, and distribution utilities or electric cooperatives. We have long advocated that a holistic approach to power planning, particularly proper, mindful, and responsible generation and transmission planning, are key to a stable grid.”

It explained that ‘uncoordinated systems’ of various players in the industry had been a major factor leading to the three-day power interruptions suffered by Visayas grid in April, hence, that is an incident that must be avoided moving forward by having a harmonized and synchronized planning in the operation of all facilities in a grid.

“Basic principles such as individual island self-sufficiency, decreased inter-island interdependency, and transmission redundancies must be considered. Improvements must be made on the entire system,” NGCP opined.

For a longer-term fix, the company has proposed several measures that shall be done not just by all industry players, but must also be underpinned by policies and regulations in the restructured power sector.

The solutions it put forward warrant all players in the sector to work collaboratively; and the to-do list delves with: clearance of line obstructions, review of generator settings and improvement in generation planning.

The others would be on: “enhancement of information dissemination, effective use of emerging technologies, acceleration of grid reinforcement projects, and review of the Grid Code.”

The company emphasized that “all sectors of the industry must be involved to create a lasting solution.”

Circling back to the dreaded blackouts in Visayas grid last summer, NGCP has reported to Congress that the incident was traced to a’ technical distress’ at the 69-kilovolt Bacolod-Silay line which is co-owned by the Central Negros Electric Cooperative, Inc. (CENECO), while emphasizing that “no fault was found along the NGCP-owned segment and its protection system functioned as intended.”

Then the malfunction at the distribution level of the power system was compounded by the tripping of the Palm Concepcion Power Corporation (PCPC) generation facility. Then from that incident, the subsequent occurrence of blackouts were no longer prevented.

“The resulting undervoltage and underfrequency were severe and unrecoverable, directly causing the tripping of other power plants, and ultimately, the Panay sub-grid collapse,” NGCP expounded.

To move on from that unwarranted predicament, the transmission firm reiterated that it is vital for the entire industry to work together in improving the overall operations of the country’s power system.

On the part of NGCP, in particular, it declared that “we continue to look for opportunities for improvement, for broader solutions to long standing energy issues, as we coordinate with other energy players for a synchronized plan of action.”