BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – The Department of Energy (DOE) has suggested to MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power), this city’s sole power distributor, the possibility of tapping the 80 megawatts (MW) power barge of Aboitiz Power for the much-needed reserve power for Panay Island.
In a letter, MORE Power president and chief executive officer Roel Castro informed Energy secretary Perpetuo Lotilla that the former that Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara told him about possibly utilizing the power barge currently stationed in Navotas, Manila.
The power barge has no existing contract and, hence, can be transferred to Iloilo City provided they can come up with an ancillary service procurement agreement (ASPA), said Castro.
The ancillary agreement to be entered into with the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) needs approval from the DOE and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
The DOE has approved MORE Power and NGCP to submit their ancillary agreement for reserve power of 50 to 60 megawatts for Panay.
In his recent press briefing, Mayor Jerry Treñas said the DOE gave clearance to MORE Power and the NGCP to submit their proposal for an ancillary reserve which aims to ensure continuous power supply to the island and maintain grid stability.
The mayor said the Energy department allowed the two entities to submit their proposal aimed at commissioning the diesel plant of Panay Power Corporation (PPC) in Barangay Ingore, La Paz district for the ancillary supply of 50 to 60 megawatts for Panay Island.
“The ancillary reserve agreement will ensure a backup power supply if one power generator breaks down,” Treñas explained.
The Palm Concepcion Power Corporation (PCPC) said Panay Island’s power requirement is increasing by 16 percent per year.
“Our power supply is very very limited and that is why we need the help of all stakeholders,” the mayor said.
He also said that about 240 megawatts can now pass through the newly-energized Cadiz – Calatrava 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line 2 by the NGCP.
Spanning 80 kilometers of transmission line from Cadiz City to Calatrava town in Negros Occidental, the project will transmit power from Cebu through the Magdugo substation to Calatrava going to Cadiz, EB Magalona, and Barotac Viejo in Iloilo.
In explaining the delay in the submission of their agreement for ancillary reserve, Castro said the agreement should be incorporated in the terms proposed by More Power Barge Inc. to enable it to provide a dispatchable reserve with a capacity of 50MW by leasing the Panay Power Corp. Plant.
Castro said they were drafting the proposed ancillary supply agreement after they met with the NGCP.
Castro also said that Aboitiz’s 80 MW power barge can be transferred to Iloilo City immediately once the DOE and ERC approve their proposed ancillary supply agreement with NGCP.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier led the ceremonial energization of the 230 kilovolts (kV) Cebu-Negros-Panay (CNP) backbone project 3 in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City.
The completion of the CNP3 means available transmission capacity for the generation of 400 megawatts (MW) for Panay Island and 500 MW for Negros.
In his speech, Marcos urged energy stakeholders and private generators to invest in the Negros and Panay energy infrastructure to meet the region’s long term-term power demands as well as boost development.
The P67.9-billion CNP 230-kV Backbone Project, composed of CNP1, CNP2, CNP3 and Negros-Panay Interconnection Project Line 2 (NPIP L2), aims to strengthen the grid and improve the reliability of power transmission in the islands of Cebu, Negros and Panay.
It involved the construction of a high-voltage transmission line and associated substations to connect the islands of Cebu, Negros, and Panay.
The CPN project will also increase transfer capacity among Cebu, Negros, and Panay islands and the dispatch of excess capacities from Mindanao to meet the demand in the Visayas grid./PN
