NGCP bares reliable, efficient power solutions at TechCon SE Asia 2018

Grid operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is spearheading efforts in Southeast Asia (SE) to find innovative solutions for sustainable, reliable, resilient, and efficient power services.

The move seeks to ensure non-stop operations of all power facilities and systems not only in the Philippines but in the rest of the region.

Towards this end, NGCP organized and brought to the Philippines the Technical Congress Southeast Asia 2018 (TechCon SE Asia 2018). Hosted by Wilson Transformer Company, together with TJ | H2b Analytical Services, the conference gathered experts from across the globe to share their knowledge, experience, and expertise on electricity transmission and the power industry.

“Economies in Southeast Asia continue to be more demanding as progress and development continually grow; with that, the need to constantly satisfy the requirement for sustainable, reliable, resilient, and efficient power services requires the innovation and non-stop operations of all our facilities and systems,” NGCP OIC-President Anthony L. Almeda said.

Participants at the event have direct interest in finding solutions to challenges facing the power industry, he said.

Thus, Almeda said that as the sole transmission service provider in charge of System Operations in the Philippines, NGCP has a unique overarching view of the power industry as it connect generators to distributors and power consumers.

“It is then only natural that we, together with our partners and stakeholders, be at the forefront of all efforts to address the different issues that will determine where our energy practices and strategies will lead our country and the region,” he added.

Since 2015, TechCon has been the power industry’s pre-eminent conference and exhibition known for its international content. This year’s theme centers on “Life-management of High-Voltage (HV) and Medium-Voltage (MV) power equipment,” and addresses current issues that impact the power industry, such as asset management strategies for aging electrical grid infrastructure.

NGCP, a privately owned corporation in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country's power grid, brings its years of knowledge and expertise on energy transmission to the TechCon. Seasoned NGCP engineers provided a glimpse on how to operate the country’s power transmission network and shared their best practices to TechCon participants, comprised mostly of engineers, managers, consultants, specialists, and service providers from the power industry.

TechCon SE Asia 2018 brought together a diverse roster of power industry experts like Dr. Michel Duval, creator of the Duval Triangle and a renowned leader in Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA), which is used to detect faults in transformers; Professor Stefan Tenbohlen, Head of the Institute of Power Transmission and High-Voltage Technology of the University of Stuttgart, Germany; and Dr. Antun Mikulecky of the University of Zagreb, Croatia, who has 38 years of experience in power transformers research and development.

Aside from global experts in the power industry, TechCon SE Asia 2018 also brings together members of the International Council on Large Electric Systems, delegates from the ASEAN Power Utilities Association, and key stakeholders from the Philippine energy sector and NGCP.

“While TechCon welcomes participants from our industry partners, it is essentially a program to develop our own talent pool. This is part of NGCP’s five-year career development plan for our engineers, designed to let them grow with the company in their chosen field while delivering top service to our customers. It is a progressive way to learn, share, and think big, with our seasoned engineers passing their knowledge on to our younger generation of engineers,” added Almeda.