NGCP on 24/7 mode for polls
By Lenie Lectura – May 10, 2019
from Business Mirror
THE National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said on Thursday it will activate the 24/7 operations of its Overall Command Center (OCC) starting May 10 until May 16 as part of its preparations to secure power transmission operations and facilities for Monday’s midterm elections.
The grid operator has also put in place contingency plans to monitor and quickly address any grid disturbance.
May 13 has been declared a special nonworking day, but NGCP’s critical units, such as System Operations (SO) and Operations and Maintenance (O&M), remain fully staffed and operational. Line crews, engineers, pilots, maintenance and testing, and other technical personnel are also strategically positioned in NGCP substations to respond to line trippings, should these occur.
“NGCP’s Integrated Disaster Action Plan prescribes these and other measures to ensure the readiness of all power-transmission facilities to be affected by emergencies or important national events. With its security and contingency preparations set, NGCP can ensure reliable power- transmission services before, during and after the election date,” it said.
The OCC will monitor grid disturbances and the overall power situation per directive of NGCP’s Power Task Force Election (PTFE), a special team formed to ensure the security and reliability of the transmission network across the country during the elections. As early as March this year, the PTFE already set out with various activities in preparation for the coming election season.
NGCP is a Filipino-led, privately owned company in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s power grid, led by majority shareholders Henry Sy Jr. and Robert Coyiuto Jr.
Meanwhile, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) said it has more than 150 generator sets on standby on election day.
These generator sets intend to provide basic lighting to polling and canvassing places in case of unexpected power interruptions. Around 300 floodlights will also be ready for deployment and use in case of emergencies, but Meralco also advises polling centers to bring backup lights, as well as extra precautions.
On May 13, Meralco will have on duty 300 responding crews, who will be working 24/7 to ensure that Meralco is prepared to respond to any eventualities.
Meralco announced that it has finished its inspection of polling and canvassing centers within its franchise area, and has made the necessary recommendations to the respective school and building administrators to address potential problems.
