Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the largest power distributor in the Philippines, is seeking ways to improve operational performance.  Siemens believes its smart grid solutions are just what Meralco needs.

Siemens has previous experience working with Meralco.  In July, the tech giant finished upgrading the power distributor’s Santa Rosa substation in Laguna.  The substation is the delivery point for the four provinces at the southern end of the island of Luzon.

Siemens managed the assembly, installation, testing, and commissioning of the new 300 megavolt-ampere (MVA) transformer at the substation for Meralco.  The upgrade effectively doubled the capacity of the Santa Rosa station to 600 MVA.

Meralco president and CEO Jose de Jesus said that Siemens’ smart grid solution would allow for improved performance at the utility.  “They approached us, and brought some of our people to their smart grid project in Greece,” said de Jesus.  The CEO added that Siemens’ smart grid technology is not in wide use yet.

The Greek project consists of four major parts: advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and smart meter data management, distributed energy resource and demand response management, automation of the distribution network, and management of the distributed network.  These systems can be fully integrated with Meralco’s systems to allow for a fully-functional and cost-effective smart grid solution.

De Jesus said that Meralco would like to implement a smart grid system that improves operational performance and allows for better management of the power grid.

Siemens’ work with Meralco in the summer was designed to prevent blackouts in Laguna due to system overloads at adjacent substations.  “Siemens is committed to support Meralco in its drive to attain 1—percent electrification in its franchise,” said Jorel Nuyda, senior vice president at Siemens.  Nuyda added that his company has partnered with Meralco on various projects since 2004.

In 2008 Siemens was awarded the supply contract for the newly installed substation in Amadeo, near the Laguna substation.  The Amadeo installation serves to provide backup power to the major Meralco substations in the province of Cavite.

“Siemens is proud to be Meralco’s major service provider in this significant project,” said Nuyda at the time of the Amadeo installation.  “We look forward to supplying more of their energy distribution and transmission requirements.”

Siemens’ timely delivery of the Amadeo substation in December of last year effectively prevented a major power outage in March of this year when a fire broke out and destroyed one of the twin 300 MVA transformers at the Dasmariñas power station owned by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.

“The world needs intelligent power grids in order to meet the growing demand for energy in a way that is eco-friendly and reliable,” said Wolfgang Dehen, chief executive of Siemens energy sector, in a released statement.  “We estimate that the demand for electricity will double by 2030 because of trends like e-mobility, which is just emerging.”

Manila Electric
2nd Floor Lopez Bldg.
Meralco Centre
Ortigas Ave., Pasig City
http://www.meralco.com.ph

Siemens
Wittelsbacherplatz 2
D-80333 Munich
Germany
http://w1.siemens.com

National Grid Corporation of the Philippines
Quezon Avenue corner BIR Road
Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
http://www.ngcp.ph

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