Bohol power utility acquires mobile substation

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

TAGBILARAN CITY — A power distributor in this city is increasing its capacity this year with the addition of a new 20-megavolt ampere (MVA) mobile substation.

Bohol Light Company Inc. (BLCI) acquired the mobile substation worth P60 million and was expected to boost the power needs of the capital city of Tagbilaran.

“Power is vital to economic development,” said Engineer Paulino Almedilla, BLCI general manager.

With the additional 20 MVA, BLCI now has a capacity of 60 MVA, twice the city’s power demand of 30 MVA.

Bohol has a total peak demand of 98 MW before the COVID-19 pandemic and was slowly inching to 76 MW before Typhoon Odette crippled the province.

Its demand was expected to increase to 113 MW by 2043.

Bohol, a prime tourist destination, still does not have enough in-island power supply. It has been largely dependent on energy sources in Leyte to meet its daily power requirement.

When Odette toppled the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ (NGCP) special towers that linked to the Leyte-Bohol interconnection, the province had no power for months.

The NGCP is currently working for the completion of the Cebu-Bohol Interconnection Project.

The 230-kilovolt line, which has a maximum capacity of 1,200 megawatts, is expected to help Bohol meet its growing power demand.

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