NGCP Panit-an Nabas transmission line to be completed by April

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) targets to complete the Panit-an-Nabas 138 kilovolt (KV) transmission line project in accordance with its 10-year Transmission Development Plan this April.

                                                                                             PHOTO NGCP

NGCP communication officer for Region 6 Michelle Vicera said the new transmission towers which are located in safer areas will deliver reliable power supply in Panay Island and could withstand typhoon winds up to 270 kilometers per hour (kph).

At least 127 steel tower structures of NGCP in the province of Aklan sustained heavy damage from typhoon Yolanda last November 2013. After the devastation, NGCP repaired and constructed temporary transmission lines or the emergency restoration system (ERS) from Panitan (Capiz) to Nabas sub-stations for continuous supply electricity to Akelco.

Vicera said the months of February and March had scheduled power interruptions in Aklan over the weekends due to ongoing work to energize the permanent transmission lines until April.

The scheduled one-hour power interruption from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday is for the rerouting or switching works of Akelco power sub-stations (Andagao, Boracay, Altavas, Caticlan and Lezo) to San Jose, Antique and Panit-an, Capiz NGCP sub-stations and another one hour from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.  

“Dapat may power interruptions tayo every weekend since February ang Aklan at Boracay. But NGCP and Akelco do not want that situation to happen. Ang remedy, ang load ng ibang sub-stations of Akelco were transferred to San Jose Antique and Panit-an substations para hindi muna gamitin ang 138kV Panit-an Nabas transmission line during the final stage of construction,” she clarified before  Radyo Todo Aklan FM on Thursday.

As this developed, NGCP also apologized for the inconvenience of unscheduled power outage it caused to power consumers of Akelco last week.

Vicera said the three incidents of unscheduled power interruptions last March 11 were due to the switching procedures to return load temporarily transferred to Antique and Capiz sub-stations to Nabas, Aklan sub-station.

”Nagkaproblema sa switching ng load, nasira ang power circuit breaker...hindi naman nagtagal ang power interruption dahil may standby personnel tayo to repair,” she stressed.

On March 19, NGCP announced maintenance activities in Aklan and Antique to upgrade the 138kV Panit-an-Nabas line. Areas affected include the whole province of Aklan and the northern towns of Antique.

The company said "it will restore power immediately after all maintenance works are completed even earlier than scheduled."

The article was originally published by independent online blog Aklan Forum Journal. The unrestricted use in print or radio, publication and distribution of articles are allowed provided the original author and Aklan Forum Journal are credited.