NGCP Empowers Electric Cooperatives Through Priority Technical Training

At a recent training that power transmission network operator NGCP hosted, attendees like lineman Melvin Geron appreciated the value of the day’s series of talks which covered basic lineman’s skills.

“Malaki ang naitulong ng training sa aming mga baguhang linemen, lalo na ang paggamit ng spike, pagtatali, at pag-akyat ng poste. (The training proved to be a big help for us who are just starting out as linemen, especially when it came to how to use and tie a spike, and how to climb a post),” said Geron, who has been with the Cabanatuan City Electric Cooperative, Inc. (CELCOR) since 2012.

“Bagama’t may lift kami, magandang alam din namin umakyat ng poste sakaling masira ang man-lift (Even if we have a man-lift, it is better that we learned how to climb a post in the event our man-lift breaks down),” Geron continued.

As the operator of the country’s transmission network, NGCP works closely with electric cooperatives like CELCOR in ensuring that the power produced by generators flows smoothly and uninterrupted to distribution utilities.

Recognizing the different challenges of these utilities such as providing skills enhancement support for its personnel, NGCP lends a hand to its partners by holding priority technical trainings for power distributors nationwide.

The program acquaints linemen and other technical personnel in distribution utilities with a wide range of perspectives from the basic skills upgrades to advanced technical trainings such as sharing of best practices in managing and maintaining high-voltage lines.

“Over the years, NGCP cultivated the technical expertise to sustain and strengthen the country’s power grid. By sharing it to our partner distribution utilities, especially the electric cooperatives, we empower them to become a better service provider to their franchise area,” explained NGCP. “We believe that the key players of the energy sector should work closely with each other to ensure the reliable and continuous transmission of electricity.”

NGCP’s initiative likewise supports the thrust of the National Electrification Administration to improve the quality of service provided by electric cooperatives.

The mandate also provides that electric cooperatives continuously increase its efficiencies in the financial and technical aspects of their operations. Further, the NEA also expects electric cooperatives to innovate and strengthen their capacities to sustain electricity transmission in the grassroots level to aid rural development.

“Even with a well-functioning power transmission system, there will still be service interruptions if we are not working closely with our partner distribution utilities,” NGCP said.

The program has three modules, namely Basic Lineman’s Training, or Maintenance of 69kV line; Overcurrent Protection Relay Training; and Electrical Safety Training. These topics have been chosen not only because they are areas of expertise of NGCP but also because they are crucial for the daily maintenance and management of power lines.

“The modules on these topics were also designed to teach our partner electric cooperatives how to standardize their equipment settings to align with NGCP’s own settings to prevent any technical problems, thereby ensuring continuous transmission of electricity,” said NGCP.

Empowering linemen and electrical engineers nationwide  

As of 5 December 2017, a total of 100 training sessions have been conducted nationwide. NGCP aims to train all 129 distribution utilities around the country.

NGCP is confident that the training sessions will have a positive impact on the work and expertise of the cooperatives’ linemen and engineers. Those who have undergone training are grateful for the activity that proved to be crucial in their line of work.

“Lubos kaming nagpapasalamat sa NGCP para sa karagdagang training na binibigay nila sa aming mga tauhan (We are deeply grateful for the training provided by NGCP to our personnel),” said Lloyd San Antonio, Head of Construction and Maintenance at CELCOR.

“Araw-araw kaming makakapag-praktis ng aming mga natutunan sa tamang pag-akyat ng poste at pag-gamit ng tools pagbalik namin sa aming mga cooperatives (We can put to practice the things we learned like the safe way to climb a post and the proper use of tools when we go back to our respective cooperatives),” he added.

NGCP is a Filipino-led, privately owned company in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s power grid, led by majority shareholders Henry Sy, Jr. and Robert Coyiuto, Jr.