The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) recently energized the Toril-Bunawan 230kV transmission line, the final component of its Mindanao 230 kiloVolt (kV) backbone project, in a bid to secure the reliability of transmission services in the island.
As one of NGCP’s critical projects, the Mindanao backbone will connect bulk generation from the northern and southern parts of the country’s second-largest island and ensure stable and continuous power from Lanao del Norte, passing through Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon, all the way to Davao Del Sur and Davao Occidental.
Among the generating facilities which will connect to the line are AC Energy-majority owned GNPower Kauswagan Clean Coal-Fired Power Plant in Lanao Del Norte; AboitizPower’s Therma South Incorporated Power Plant in Davao City; and San Miguel Consolidated Power Corporation’s power plant in Malita, Davao Occidental; with a total combined capacity of 1,440 megawatts.
The PhP7.09 Billion project involved the construction of the Toril-Bunawan 230kV and Matanao-Toril 230kV transmission lines, the upgrade of the Balo-i-Villanueva-Maramag-Bunawan line from 138kV to 230kV, as well as the upgrade of its substations in Malita, Matanao, Toril, Bunawan, Balo-i, Villanueva, and Maramag.
Energization of the project components started with the power transformer in Villanueva Substation and Maramag-Villanueva 230kV Line 2 in September 2019, while the Balo-i-Villanueva Lines 1 and 2 were energized in September and October of the same year. Transformers in the Bunawan Substation and the Maramag-Bunawan 230kV lines were energized also in October 2019. This was followed by the energization of another new transformer in Villanueva Substation and the Maramag-Villanueva Line 1 in November 2019, while a power transformer in Toril Substation was energized shortly after in the same month.
The Matanao-Toril 230kV Lines 1 and 2 were energized in December 2019 and January 2020, respectively, while the Matanao-Culaman 230kV Lines 1 and 2 were energized in the same period. The final component, the Toril-Bunawan 230kV Lines 1 and 2, were energized in November 2020, despite the difficulties posed by the varying lockdown protocols implemented across the country.
“With this completion, the line will supplement the existing Davao-Toril-Matanao 138kV transmission line in transmitting any and all available and incoming generation, ensuring transmission service reliability for the entire region,” NGCP said in a statement.
The Mindanao 230kV Backbone project is an integral part of NGCP’s Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP), which will link the Visayas and Mindanao islands and realize sharing of power within the entire country.
