NGCP invests P12M for new control center

MANILA, Philippines - The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has invested about P12 million for a new Area Control Center (ACC) facility in Negros Island.

The building will house the new System Operations Control Room, Data Center and Server Room, Telecom Equipment and Battery Room, and Satellite Document Center.

NGCP said the construction of the building is necessary to efficiently monitor the transmission grid condition in the island and accurately dispatch the available power supply to grid customers and users.

The Negros ACC was previously housed inside NGCP’s Bacolod Substation but due to the criticality and exclusivity of its function, the grid operator decided to build a dedicated structure for the facility.

“The Area Control Center should be isolated and highly secured because it contains grid data that are needed to monitor the power demand and supply condition in real time. It is the nerve center of NGCP’s operations in the island. The public should be assured that NGCP will continue to invest in new installations and implement all ERC-approved projects like this one to cope with the growing demands of Negros as one of the key cities in Visayas,” NGCP head of Visayas system operations Raul Galano said.

At present, NGCP has 12 ACCs which are connected to their respective regional control centers in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. These ACCs manage the grid operations and control the power transmission within their sub-grids.

The sub-grid data are then consolidated by the Regional Control Centers and, later on, the National Control Center for monitoring purposes.

NGCP is a privately-owned corporation in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s power grid. It transmits high-voltage electricity through “power superhighways” that include the interconnected system of transmission lines, towers, substation and related assets.