NGCP starts operating new Cagayan Valley transmission line

PRIVATELY-owned National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has energized the 230-kilovolt (kV) Santiago-Tuguegarao transmission line 2 as part of its plan to enhance the North Luzon transmission system.

“Improving the North Luzon transmission corridor is important because we have been seeing a lot of renewable power sources and a steady load growth in the past years,” NGCP said in a statement.

“With the line’s energization, we assure a more reliable and better quality of power transmission services for our power consumers in Isabela, Cagayan, Kalinga, Apayao, and the rest of the Luzon grid,” it added.

The 118-kilometer transmission line runs from Santiago, Isabela to Tuguegarao, Cagayan Valley, reinforcing Luzon’s north eastern transmission corridor, which NGCP described as “geographically vulnerable to unplanned outages as the area is frequented by typhoons.”

The transmission line, which was energized on Sept. 17, is part of the bigger northern Luzon 230-kV looping project along with the Luzon substation expansion, which covers the upgrade of various substations in Isabela and Cagayan.

The looping project seeks to improve the overall reliability of the Luzon transmission network, NGCP said.

The system operator said the Santiago-Tuguegarao line complies with the N-1 requirement of the Philippine Grid Code. It said the code “calls for the improvement of the grid’s capability to withstand the loss of a major system component with minimal or no disturbance to the entire network.”

NGCP operates, maintains and develops the country’s power grid, led by majority shareholders Henry Sy, Jr. and Robert Coyiuto, Jr. —