The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is outsourcing some aspects of the system impact studies (SIS) pending the issuance of the accreditation by the Energy Regulatory Commission.
The company said this and other initiatives will further augment the organization’s capabilities and expedite the completion of SIS which are challenged by the long queue of prospective power plant connections.
The SIS is a critical assessment that determines the capacity of the power grid to accommodate a new generator which also identifies necessary improvements such as additional transmission lines, transformers or substations.
NGCP said to date, there are 9 ongoing SIS with 64 on queu.
The company said other initiatives being done include the expansion of the SIS team by hiring additional manpower.
NGCP is also adopting a clustering approach for SIS, grouping together power plants with a common connection point or study area to streamline the process and accelerate the evaluation of multiple projects, enhancing the overall efficiency and reducing the waiting time for potential power plant developers.
The company added due to the increasing demand for power generation in the country, applications for SIS surged significantly. Historically, majority of applicants do not push through with their initial plans with only around 28 percent of completed SIS resulting to the establishment of actual power plants.
“Although 7 out of 10 SIS applicants will not actually pursue their power investments, we are obliged to fully evaluate each application when they are passed on to us by the Department of Energy (DOE)… Accordingly, we have taken the necessary steps to expedite the process and improve its efficiency,” said Anthony Almeda, NGCP president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
Almeda also said in more developed countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, the completion of grid impact studies typically takes more than three years.
“Other countries usually operate on a first-ready-first-served basis. This strategy has been discussed with the DOE. It may be worth considering to depart from the first-come-first-served basis currently in place through EVOSS (Energy Virtual One Stop Shop), to be faster and more efficient. Generation project proponents who are first in line for SIS are not necessarily first to be ready with complete requirements. In fact, many request for time extensions, which also contributes to the prolonged SIS processing time,” Almeda said.
