The confluence of events made glaring by another “frequency disturbance” in Panay and some parts of Negros on January 2 to 5, presented an opportunity for Power Watch Negros Secretary General Wennie Sancho with a switch, so to speak, of the need for power recovery and development, as well as the unparalleled opportunity that would radically transform the entire energy sector in the province of Negros and Western Visayas.
The forthcoming franchise of the Negros Electric and Power Corp. (NEPC) will transform the energy sector that will capacitate the consumers to lead better lives wherein even the means of generating electricity will become accessible and affordable for the people, he said.
With the entry of NEPC as the major player in the power industry of Negros, the consumers are looking forward that it will be a long term provider of power and re liability services to the fast growing economy of Bacolod and its adjoining cities of Silay, Talisay, Bago and the municipalities of Murcia and Salvador Benedicto, Sancho said in a press statement.
The timely intervention of the local and national government led to an announcement by the Department of Energy (DOE) on January 26, that the reserve market is now in full commercial operation, and would greatly help in ensuring grid and system stability in Negros and Western Visayas. This positive development was bolstered by a DOE statement that all power generation companies can now offer and sell ancillary services (regulatory reserve power) to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines(NGCP), even without ancillary service procurement agreements (ASPA’s), he said.
With the commercialization of the reserve market, the available reserves are sufficient to ensure the system stability of the grid in the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project, according to Energy Chief Rafael Lotilla.
The participation of NEPC and the new DOE policy on ancillary services will strengthen grid transmission stability and shield CENECO’s service area from power outages due to lack of capacity, because NGCP is now ready to provide supplementary power supply during peaking times and emergencies when there are shortages and grid problems, Sancho said.
The completion of Cebu-Negros-Panay 230kV Transmission backbone of NGCP (Phase 2 and 3) will increase the capacity of the existing corridor and the N-1 Contingency plan or ancillary, services.
Sancho believes that these positive developments will soon accommodate the transmission of excess power from Panay and Negros Island towards the rest of the Visayas and possibly Luzon Grid. The 5-year Development Plan of NEPC will serve as the roadmap towards Negros Electric Power Sector Transformation setting a new configuration in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity.
(PWN PR, photo courtesy by TVDS)
