Negros Electric and Power Corp. (Negros Power) is investing PHP192 million to acquire a 37.5-megavolt amperes (MVA) mobile substation as part of the first three years of its five-year development plan in central Negros.
Negros Power president and CEO Roel Castro said during a press briefing on Wednesday, marking their first year of operations, that the mobile substation is expected to be procured by May next year.
“The new mobile substation will support growth in the area,” Castro said.
The mobile substation will temporarily serve customers while permanent substations undergo maintenance.
By September, Negros Power targets to complete the PHP25-million upgrade of the Mountain View Substation and, by November, transfer the Mountain View 12MVA to the Murcia Substation, with a PHP10-million budget.
“The first three years are really more of rehabilitation and catching up. The next two years are really catching up, and hopefully in the third year, we will already be where we should be,” Castro explained.
Since last year, Negros Power has completed key projects, including meter replacements, installation of elevated metering centers, and rehabilitation of major substations like Alijis and Reclamation. Infrastructure improvements, such as pole replacements, line rehabilitation, and implementation of best practices, were also prioritized.
“But we will not stop there because we still have two years to bring our system forward to make sure that our system, in the fifth year, is already ahead of the curve,” Castro added.
The modernization phase includes setting up a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system for real-time monitoring, establishing three additional substations, expanding power lines, and enhancing system capacity and reliability.
Castro said Negros Power has already spent over PHP1.2 billion from its PHP2.1-billion investment for the five-year plan, which covers Bacolod, Bago, Talisay, and Silay cities, as well as the municipalities of Murcia and Don Salvador Benedicto.
