LGU lifts closure order on NGCP’s substation project in Pampanga
By Myrna M. Velasco – October 27, 2022, 3:29 PM
from Manila Bulletin
The local government unit (LGU) of San Simon, Pampanga has lifted the closure order it earlier issued which temporarily halted the construction of the 230-kilovolt (kV) substation project of transmission firm National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.
In a statement to the media, NGCP indicated that the matter has already been resolved with the help extended by the local government’s top leaders, primarily Pampanga Governor Dennis Pineda and Vice Governor Lilia Pineda.
With the new go-signal given by its host municipality in San Simon, the transmission company stated that it can already “resume project construction activities” at the substation facility.
“The closure order is now lifted …San Simon Mayor Abundio Punsalan Jr. acknowledged the clarification and gave his go-signal for NGCP to resume project construction activities,” the company reported.
When the substation project’s construction was stalled, NGCP raised warning that several key industries primarily the locators in industrial zones in the province could be adversely affected, given the sensitivity of manufacturing facilities to any disruption in electricity service.
As noted by Vice Governor Pineda, NGCP has been pursuing that substation project to “support the rapid development of Pampanga and the rest of the country.”
The transmission firm emphasized that the project will “reinforce the reliability and stability of power transmission services in the Luzon grid, by serving as alternate source for customers connected to the existing Mexico substation.”
That facility had cornered the green light of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) prior to its implementation and it was also a certified energy project of national significance (EPNS) by the Department of Energy.
The timely completion of transmission facilities, including substation projects, would be crucial in attaining reliability of power supply being wheeled to end-users – stretching from the residential as well as commercial and industrial customers.
Enhancement of the capacity that could be accommodated in a substation is also extremely vital in underpinning the expansion of demand across customer-segments served by specific power transmission facilities.
