THE National Power Corp. (Napocor) said the power it generates in missionary areas rose to 88.53 megawatts (MW) at the end of 2021, from 13.66 MW in 2016.
In a report filed to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez, who also serves as the company’s chairman, Napocor said it added 321.5 circuit kilometers of transmission lines over the same period in remote, missionary areas, which are served by an arm of Napocor known as the Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG).
The starting point in 2016 was 776.03 circuit kilometers, Napocor Officer-in-Charge Melchor P. Ridulme was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Department of Finance (DoF).
Mr. Ridulme, who is also Napocor’s Chief Operating Officer, also said the company hopes to increase the number of SPUG facilities to 296 by June from 285 at the end of 2021, servicing 240 missionary areas, from 229 at the end of 2021.
“Napocor plans to expand capacity additions in missionary areas to 106.58 megawatts and its transmission lines to 1,125.46 circuit kilometers, along with increasing substation capacity to 225 megawatts by June 2022,” Mr. Ridulme said in his report.
The number of SPUG plants operating round the clock has also increased to 82, from 41 plants in 2016, he added.
“Napocor is also active in the reforestation of watershed open areas to support sustainable hydro and geothermal plant operations in the main grids,” the DoF said in its statement.
Reforestation in watershed areas covered 4,419 hectares (has.) at the end of 2021, from 1,881 has. in 2016, Mr. Ridulme added.
Last month, Napocor sought approval from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to use P335.35 million from collected universal charges for watershed rehabilitation.
Under Republic Act (RA) No. 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), Napocor is responsible for providing power to areas that are not connected to the transmission system.
Electrification projects in off-grid areas are funded by their own revenue supplemented by universal charges (UC) collected from all other consumers.
The National Transmission Corp. (Transco) also reported to Mr. Dominguez that it inspected 85 assets and four projects of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) to ensure compliance with Department of Energy (DoE) policies.
Transco President and CEO Jainal A. Bahjin II said, however, that most of the inspections were virtual, due to mobility restrictions in force during the pandemic. Transco resumed physical inspections starting March 22, Mr. Bahjin said.
Under Republic Act No. 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA), Napocor is responsible for power generation in areas not connected to the main grid.
Mr. Bahjin said Transco validated 173 right-of-way claims and filed expropriation cases or approved right-of-way claims involving the company’s transmission lines and substations in 2021. — Tobias Jared Tomas
