Philippines To Upgrade Vital Power Line To Boost Supply
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
MANILA (Dow Jones)--State-owned National Transmission Corp., or Transco, said Tuesday it will start this week upgrading a vital power transmission line to increase the supply of electricity from renewable sources in the main island of Luzon and in central Philippines.
Alan Ortiz, Transco's president and chief executive, said the upgrade of the 230-kilovolt Binan-Dasmarinas line will quadruple the capacity of a double circuit, single conductor power line that now transmits a load of 300 megawatts.
The upgrade of the high voltage line will allow it to carry 1,200 MW, making it compliant with Philippine Grid Code and allowing it to carry more electricity from power plants located in areas south of Manila. The upgrade will take about four months.
Provinces just south of Manila are home to large baseload plants that use geothermal steam, natural gas and coal as fuel. Their concentration in the southern section of Luzon island had strained the transmission capacity in the area.
"Once the line upgrade is finished," said Ortiz, "the Ilijan gas-fired facility in Batangas can dispatch up to 1,200 MW which is a significant increase compared to its current dispatch of 600 MW."
He said the greater dispatch from Ilijan will displace electricity generated by power stations using imported oil and "minimize our dependence on oil."
Ortiz said it will also allow the power-starved Visayas region in central Philippines "to reclaim about 400 MW of capacity which is currently exported to Luzon."
The electricity is generated using geothermal energy from the Visayas and transmitted using submarine cables.
The line upgrade was supposed to have been done five years ago, before the new natural gas-fueled power plants became operational. But a concrete plan was only drawn up when Transco was created last year.
Ortiz said arrangements have been made with National Power Corp. (NAP.YY) and power distributor Manila Electric Co. (MERB.PH) to ensure that electricity supply isn't disrupted when the high voltage power line is shut in the last four months of the year, when electricity consumption is lower.
posted by philpower @ 9:17 AM,
