THE NATIONAL Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) is seeking approval from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to undertake a P569.19-million upgrading project of the Agus 2 switchyard in a bid to improve the service capacity of the Agus hydroelectric power plants (HEPPs).
Hydroelectric power is the main source of electricity in the Mindanao grid. A large portion is supplied by the Agus 1 and 2 HEPPs with the total installed capacity of 260 megawatts.
The said switchyard is a very important gateway for the transmission of the combined generated power capacities of the HEPPs to the Mindanao grid. Thus, outage from any of the HEPP or the switchyard itself is very critical to the stability of the power supply in Mindanao.
It is the responsibility of the NGCP to ensure the reliable operation of the switchyard in order for the HEPPs to fully perform its vital role to the Mindanao grid.
Lately the switchyard has been showing frequent breakdowns due to age. Also, the scarcity of the spare parts is a constraint in the repair of the switchyard. “Thus, in order for NGCP to ensure reliability of the switchyard, the ERC must allow upgrading and rehabilitation thereof,” the grid operator said. “NGCP seeks authority from this commission for the immediate implementation of the Agus 2 switchyard upgrading project aimed, among others, to prevent imminent outage of Agus 1 and 2 HEPPs.”
NGCP proposed to undertake the rehab in two phases. Phase 1, which is expected to be completed in 2015, involves renovation and expansion of existing control building, replacement of obsolete devices and telecom equipment. Phase 2, which is expected to be completed in 2017, involves civil, mechanical and electrical works.
“Any delay in the implementation of the project would result to possible disengagement of the connected local electric cooperatives and industries from the grid which may also cause system instability during contingencies or malfunction of major primary equipment in the switchyard,” said NGCP.