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STATE-RUN National Transmission Corp. (Transco) said it
had arranged the transfer of three 200-megavolt ampere
transformers from its Kadampat substation in Labrador,
Pangasinan, to temporarily replace the damaged
transformers at Transco’s San Jose substation in Bulacan.
In a
statement, Transco said the transfer came after the
spare transformers at the San Jose substation also broke
down prematurely in July after only 10 years of service
as against the normal substation transformer lifespan of
35 to 40 years.
As a
result, Transco said the coal-fired plants had limited
dispatch and oil-fired plants had to be used.
Arthur
Aguilar, Transco president, said there were technical
measures that were also considered to avoid the higher
generating costs, but these would have a high risk of
system breakdown which could result in widespread
brownouts.
Aguilar
added Transco is also speeding up the completion of the
230-kilovolt San Manuel-Concepcion-Mexico transmission
line, which will allow the higher dispatch of
hydroelectric plants which are of lower costs compared
with oil-fired plants being used now.
Transco
said the transformers from Kadampat are expected to
arrive at the San Jose substation on the first week of
September and are targeted for energization by September
27.
The
transfer was delayed due to the passage of Typhoon
Julian the other week and the continuing rainy weather,
which could damage sensitive transformer parts.
“Extreme
care should be taken to prevent moisture from seeping
inside the transformer during the whole process. Also,
these transformers are very large so we’ll need to use a
route that will enable the trucks carrying them to pass
through all the overpass structures and arches along the
way,” Aguilar said.
Once the
replacement transformers are in place, Transco would be
able to restore full dispatch of electricity from
cheaper power sources in Luzon such as coal-fired and
hydroelectric plants.
The
Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) earlier decided to
suspend certain rules of the Wholesale Electricity Spot
Market (WESM) in order to mitigate the impact of the
sudden increase of power rates at the power market,
Francis Saturnino Juan, the commission’s executive
director, said.
In an
interview, he also clarified that the regulatory body
could not intervene and suspend market operations, as it
is only the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC),
the market operator, or the Transco, the system
operator, that can do so.
Juan
said the ERC has decided to just indefinitely suspend
Rule 3.5, Article 3 of the WESM Rules, effectively
shielding consumers from having to pay for expensive
electricity due to volatilities in the spot market.
Rule
3.5, Article 3 of the WESM Rules says any distribution
utility (DU) with an existing transition supply
contract with the National Power Corp. (Napocor), but
which opted to become a direct WESM member, will no
longer enjoy the 20-percent allowance over its
contracted capacity with Napocor.
Anything
above that contracted capacity must be paid at the price
of WESM.
The
rule added that all imbalances beyond the 100-percent
contracted level of said DUs shall be deemed taken from
the WESM.
The
suspension of this rule will allow the DUs to apply as
rate the time-of-use (TOU) rates of Napocor as the
applicable rate for the said month, cushioning the
prices from market volatility.
Juan
added the said rule will, however, be reinstated once
the Transco completes the repair works on the San Jose
substation.
Lasse
Holopainen, president of PEMC, earlier said the PEMC—operator
of WESM—will seek the ERC intervention to mitigate the
possible impact of the spike in power rates last month
at the power market.
“We have
discussed this concern with the regulator,” said
Holopainen, adding that measures have already been
tossed around to cushion the possible high prices at the
WESM caused by congestion in the power transmission
lines after the San Jose transformer of Transco
sustained damage.
Based on
PEMC’s initial computations, the PEMC official noted the
effective settlement price for July averaged at P18 per
kilowatt-hour (kWh) with settlement surplus, or P9 per
kWh without settlement surplus.
If
billed, Holopainen said the price spikes would impact
Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) customers by around
P1/kWh.
Holopainen said the WESM operations in July have 63
price intervals in question, which are being reviewed
and recalculated.
“The
prices have resulted from a major transmission
problem—San Jose—which effectively cut our market in
half. Now, not only has this caused us a lot of
problems, in terms of recalculating everything, but
there are about 60 intervals—which is under discussion
now with the regulator as to whether there should be an
intervention,” added Holopainen.
He said
distribution utilities like Meralco can actually opt to
apply the TOU rates of Napocor.
Holopainen added that another option would be PEMC
setting an administered price based on what is provided
for under WESM Rules.
He
warned that repairs on transmission facilities would
take until September or October this year.
Holopainen cited the need for stakeholders and the ERC
to come up with a solution that will mitigate the impact
on consumers.
“What
we’re having is an unusual situation, which is not
related to generation or fuel-supply problems as what
was experienced in the past,” said Holopainen. |
