State Grid plans to make RP power transmission a model system

Beijing: State Grid Corp. of China (SGCC) said it plans to infuse a proprietary technology in the country’s power grid to transform it into a model power transmission system for the region.

In briefing, Zhang Qiqing, SGCC director general for international cooperation, said that China’s state grid plans to transform the country’s power transmission system into one of the best in Southeast Asia.

“We will make the Philippine grid the best one in the region. That is our goal. With our high level of management and operational experience we can achieve that during the course of the 25-year concession period,” he said.

SGCC holds a 40-percent stake in the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), which won the concession contract of the National Transmission Corp. Its local partners in NGCP are Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp. and Calaca High Power Corp.

The SGCC official said that the company plans to utilize its expertise in power transmission to help the country improve its grid network.

At present, that the Philippine grid still lags behind those in Hong Hong, Korea and Taiwan but transforming it into one of the best in Southeast Asia can be done, Zhang said.

“If we want the network to be more stable, we need to put more money in the construction or upgrading or system,” he added.

NGCP president Walter Brown earlier said that the consortium plans to spend P10 billion for its capital expenditure as indicated in the Transmission Development Plan (TDP). Under the TDP, the concessionaire will have to pour in some $850 million from 2006 to 2010.

Zhang said the SGCC is now finalizing a short-term plan for NGCP to take into account the priority projects that they would like to undertake in the next five years.

The official said they also intend to play an active part in monitoring the implementation of proposed plans every now and then to make sure that everything is done in order.

Other SGCC officials added that China’s state grid is open to utilizing patented technologies in power transmission in the Philippines, which helped one of the world’s largest growing economies stave of blackouts for decades. Aside from this, the company will also be training NGCP personnel.

In 2008, SGCC—the world’s largest utility—recorded sales revenues of $160 billion, a 15.2-percent increase compared with 2007. It ranked 24th in the 2008 Fortune’s Global 500.

With total assets of $240 billion and 1.5 million employees, SGCC serves over one billion people and has 145 million customers.

Besides the Philippines, SGCC has overseas operations in other parts of Asia, Africa and Europe. –Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo, Reporter