Meralco turns on Global City high-tech substation

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s largest power distributor, said Wednesday it inaugurated its newly constructed substation located at the Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City. In a statement, Meralco said the 115-kilovolt substation built at P439 million has an initial capacity of 83 megavolt amperes (MVA) — enough to power critical establishments like hospital, embassies, commercial centers, communities within Global City. Meralco said the new substation converts high-voltage power coming from the transmission system to levels suitable end-power consumers. The substation is the 12th of Meralco facility that employs state-of-the-art Gas-Insulated Switchgear (GIS) technology. The technology allows Meralco to adopt a compact building design to save on space and blend with the surrounding community. The new substation is aligned with the theme of Bonifacio Global City as a prime location where “technology meets aesthetics," according to Meralco. Meralco president and CEO Manuel Pangilinan said the substation is part of a bigger plan for Global City, which is to build four substations. “Each substation will have three transformers, each transformer having a capacity of 83 MVA. After further developments, there will be a total of four substations and 12 transformers," he added. “What we want to assure our customers and the occupants in Global City is that we are here to deliver reliable and efficient supply of power," Pangilinan said. Energy Secretary Almendras pointed out that the wonderful thing about GIS is efficiency. “I appreciate GIS. I appreciate the installation. Efficiency is wonderful because you don’t worry about system losses. Energy efficiency also translates to better resource management for all of us — it takes care of our environment." With the new substation, Meralco will reduce system loss by 2.4 megawatt hours a year, or P15.1-million in system loss charges to its customers. — JE/VS, GMANews.TV