National Grid Corporation of the Philippines plans to complete within the year a crucial transmission facility as part of efforts to aid in the recovery of typhoon-ravaged Eastern Visayas.
National Grid, operator of the country’s transmission network, said the second line of the Ormoc-Babatngon 138-kilovolt line in Leyte province would require the construction of an overhead transmission line spanning almost 80 kilometers.
It also includes the installation of necessary upgrade equipment at the Ormoc and Babatngon Substations.
The company said the line would transmit the power supply from the geothermal plants in Leyte to Samar Island, highlighting the importance of the project’s timely completion.
The line reinforcement will increase the reliability of power transmission to Samar, which has no internal generation facility within the island, and is heavily dependent on the supply coming from Leyte.
“For the often typhoon-stricken Samar, a steady supply of electricity is important to ensure the island’s continuous growth and recovery from disasters. This is what we are trying to address by constructing the Ormoc-Babatngon 138 kV line. In addition, this project will also cater to the increasing demand for electricity in Tacloban after Typhoon Yolanda,” National Grid said.
It said Leyte II Electric Cooperative, which distributes power to Tacloban, will be the main customer to benefit from the project.
National Grid is a privately-owned corporation in charge of operating, maintaining and developing the country’s power grid.
It transmits high-voltage electricity through transmission lines, towers, substations, and related assets.
The consortium, which holds the 25-year concession contract to operate the country’s power transmission network, is composed of Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp. led by businessman Henry Sy Jr., Calaca High Power Corp. led by Robert Coyiuto Jr., and the State Grid Corporation of China as technical partner.
