Transmission operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines said Thursday it energized the P7-billion Toril-Bunawan 230kV transmission line, the final component of its Mindanao 230 kiloVolt backbone project.
NGCP said in a statement the Mindanao backbone project would stabilize power transmission and secure the reliability of services in the entire Mindanao.
The Mindanao backbone, one of NGCP’s critical projects, will connect bulk generation from the northern and southern parts of Mindanao and ensure stable and continuous power from Lanao del Norte, passing through Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon, to Davao del Sur and Davao Occidental.
Among the generating facilities which will connect to the line are the power plants of GNPower Kauswagan, Therma South Inc. and San Miguel Consolidated Power Corp. with a total combined capacity of 1,440 megawatts.
The project involves the construction of the Matanao-Toril 230kV and Toril-Bunawan 230kV transmission lines, the upgrade of the Balo-i-Villanueva-Maramag-Bunawan line from 138kV to 230kV and the upgrade of its substations in Malita, Matanao, Toril, Bunawan, Balo-i, Villanueva, and Maramag.
Energization of the project components started with the power transformer in Villanueva Substation and Maramag-Villanueva 230kV Line 2 in September 2019 while the Balo-i-Villanueva Lines 1 and 2 were energized in September and October of the same year.
Transformers in Bunawan Substation and the Maramag-Bunawan 230kV lines were energized in October last year.
NGCP said this was followed by the energization of another new transformer in Villanueva Substation and the Maramag-Villanueva Line 1 in November 2019, while a power transformer in Toril Substation was energized shortly after in the same month.
The Matanao-Toril 230kV Lines 1 and 2 were energized in December 2019 and January 2020, respectively, while the Matanao-Culaman 230kV Lines 1 and 2 were energized in the same period.
The final component, the Toril-Bunawan 230kV Lines 1 and 2, were energized last month despite the difficulties posed by the varying lockdown protocols implemented across the country.
“With this completion, the line will supplement the existing Davao-Toril-Matanao 138kV transmission line in transmitting any and all available and incoming generation, ensuring transmission service reliability for the entire region,” said NGCP.
The Mindanao 230kV Backbone project is also an integral part of NGCP’s Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project which will link the Visayas and Mindanao islands and realize sharing of power across country.
“The Mindanao Backbone is critical to the MVIP because through this project, the new transmission line will accommodate the capacities needed to fully support and utilize the capabilities of the interconnection,” NGCP said.
NGCP is a Filipino-led, privately owned company in charge of operating, maintaining and developing the country’s power grid, led by majority shareholders and vice chairman of the board Henry Sy Jr. and co-vice chairman Robert Coyiuto Jr.