NGCP ensures 'excellent' power delivery during May automated polls

There will be reliable and stable power supply for the upcoming automated elections in May, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) assured the public. For the event, the NGCP, the country’s transmission service provider, formed a special task force that will ensure smooth transmission of electricity and also the creation of contingency plans and measures during the elections.   Cynthia Alabanza, NGCP spokesperson, said the task force would commence its operations next month and will work 24/7 from May 10 to 17, 2013. The elections will be on May 13. “We will make sure that power delivery is excellent and transmission lines and equipment are at their best to ensure that we have electricity for the voting machines,” she said. The task force will strive to ensure uninterrupted power during the elections up to the counting of the ballots.   Alabanza said NGCP creates a task force every election season to guarantee uninterrupted power transmission during the period. The task force will help secure the lines and substations against threats to avoid unplanned outages.   NGCP will also defer its maintenance activities one week before and one week after the elections to make all the transmission assets available for power delivery. Alabanza, however, conceded that NGCP could only guarantee that there would be no transmission-related interruptions.   “Any power interruption caused by other factors, such as generation deficiencies, or those pertaining to distribution utility operations, are beyond our control,” she said. NGCP operates, maintains and develops the country’s transmission highway owned by state-owned National Transmission Corp. It transmits high-voltage electricity through transmission lines, towers and substations. — KBK, GMA News