Luzon back-up power site nearly done

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) disclosed on Wednesday that it would soon finish its new Back-up Luzon Regional Control Center (LRCC) located at its Mexico Substation in Pampanga.

Lilibeth Gaydowen, NGCP North Luzon Corporate Communication and Public Affairs Officer, said the back-up control center will serve as the dispatching and control arena of power supply and demand for the whole Luzon should the main regional control center be unavailable.

It will house the NGCP’s System Operations’ (SO) equipment, including a new projector system, telecommunications, and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), and Energy Management System (EMS), Gaydowen bared.

According to the system operator, the project, which costs approximately P125 million, will be completed before the end of the year.

The Back-up LRCC now features the new Open 3000 technology – a more advanced software application in monitoring the grid’s operation.

This makes it akin to the Luzon Regional Control Center, also known as the National Control Center (NCC) in Diliman, Quezon City; the Visayas Regional Control Center in Cebu, and the Mindanao Regional Control Center in Cagayan De Oro City, which were refurbished and upgraded earlier this year.

“The advantage of using the Open 3000 software is that the various sub-systems of SO, such as SCADA and EMS, will be integrated and will share the same platform for common services like system administration, data access, and reporting tools which will, in turn, expedite internal procedures.

“Reliability of transmission services will likewise be improved because the grids of Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao will now operate on one platform, thereby ensuring consistency and compatibility in operations,” Gaydowen explained.

The SCADA pertains to a set of integrated computer systems used in gathering real-time data regarding power systems operations from remote locations and equipment to monitor and control the grid. These data are being managed and consolidated through the EMS to oversee the grid.