The Negros Oriental II Electric Cooperative is planning to upgrade its sub-stations in Dumaguete City due to increasing demand for electricity.

Ephraim Taclob, General manager of NORECO said the proposal of the technical services and transmission and distribution departments will be discussed in a meeting with the technical working group, the capex committee and the PBAC. Taclob said the two 10-MVA substations in Brgy. Pulantubig are overloaded, prompting the electric utility to transfer some of the loads to the 20MVA substation in Brgy. Bagacay.

One of the 10 MVA sub-stations will be upgraded into a 20 MVA sub-station in tandem with the 20 MVA sub-station in Bagacay, to relieve the transformers of its current load and to make Dumaguete less vulnerable to brownouts.

Frequent brownouts were experienced in Dumaguete the past few weeks because the two sub-stations in Pulantubig were overloaded. It was also explained that the feeder protection relay had also given up, which had been recalibrated by technicians from Manila, NORECO said. Upgrading of the sub-station from 10 to 20 MVA will cost the cooperative about P20 million.

Taclob also said he welcomes President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's call for Congress to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act or the EPIRA law.

Taclob said reduced rates will depend on how much reduction of power is given by National Power Corporation and Transco to electric utilities.*JG

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