St. Peter’s Academy
Polangui, Albay
SCIENCE 9
Name: _____________________________________________ Date performed: _________________
Quarter: 4th
Week: 7
Date submitted: __________________
Subject Content: Generation, transmission, and distribution of electrical energy from power plants (hydroelectric,
geothermal, wind, nuclear) to home
Learning Competency:
1. Explain how electrical energy is generated, transmitted, and distributed
INTRODUCTION.
How the Power System Works in the Philippines

Electricity power generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy.
For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery (transmission, distribution, etc.) to end
users or its storage (using, for example, the pumped-storage method).
Electricity is not freely available in nature, so it must be "produced" (that is, transforming other forms of energy to
electricity). Production is carried out in power stations (also called "power plants"). Electricity is most often
generated at a power by electromechanical generators, primarily driven by heat engines fueled
by combustion or nuclear fission but also by other means such as the kinetic energy of flowing water and wind.
Other energy sources include solar photovoltaics and geothermal power.

Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power
plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines which facilitate this movement are known as
a transmission network. This is distinct from the local wiring between high-voltage substations and customers,
which is typically referred to as electric power distribution. The combined transmission and distribution network is
part of electricity delivery, known as the electrical grid.
Efficient transmission involves reducing the currents by stepping up the voltage prior to transmission, and stepping
it down at a substation at the far end. For AC power transmission the stepping up and down is done using
transformers.

Electric power distribution is the final stage in the delivery of electric power; it carries electricity from
the transmission system to individual consumers. Distribution substations connect to the transmission system and
lower the transmission voltage to medium voltage ranging between 2 kV and 35 kV with the use of transformers.
Primary distribution lines carry this medium voltage power to distribution transformers located near the
customer's premises. Distribution transformers again lower the voltage to the utilization voltage used by lighting,
industrial equipment and household appliances. Often several customers are supplied from one transformer
through secondary distribution lines. Commercial and residential customers are connected to the secondary
distribution lines through service drops. Customers demanding a much larger amount of power may be connected
directly to the primary distribution level or the subtransmission level.
The transition from transmission to distribution happens in a power substation, which has the following functions:
1. Circuit breakers and switches enable the substation to be disconnected from the transmission grid or for
distribution lines to be disconnected.
2. Transformers step down transmission voltages, 35 kV or more, down to primary distribution voltages.
These are medium voltage circuits, usually 600–35000 V.
3. From the transformer, power goes to the busbar that can split the distribution power off in multiple
directions. The bus distributes power to distribution lines, which fan out to customers.
DISCUSSION.
Generation Sector in the Philippines
Power generation in the Philippines is not considered as a public utility operation, which means interested parties do not
need to secure a congressional franchise to operate a power generation company. However, power generation is regulated
by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) who must issue a certificate of compliance to interested parties to ensure
that the standards set forth in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA) are followed. The ERC is also
responsible for determining any power abuse or anti-competitive behavior.
The Philippines uses coal, natural gas, oil, biomass, geothermal, solar, wind and
hydroelectric as means of converting forms of energy into electricity.
Some of the Fossil-based Power Plants in the Philippines are as follows:
 GNPower Mariveles Coal-Fired Power Plant (Bataan)
 Ilijan Combined-Cycle Power Plant (Batangas)
 TMI Nasipit Oil-fired Power Barge (Agusan del Norte)
Some of the Renewable-energy Power Plants in the Philippines are as follows:
 VMC Bagasse-fired Cogeneration Plant (Negros)
 Pililla Wind Farm (Rizal)
 Kirahon Solar Farm (Misamis Oriental)
 Tiwi Geothermal Power Plant (Albay)
 AGUS VI Hydroelectric Power Plant (Iligan)
Tiwi Geothermal Power Plant (Albay)
Transmission Sector in the Philippines
The Philippine transmission system is composed of three grids, the Luzon Grid, Visayas
Grid, and Mindanao Grid. One characteristic of the grids is that most bulk generation
sites are found far from the load centers, necessitating use of long-distance transmission
lines.
Major power lines of the Luzon Grid are the overhead Sucat–Araneta–
Balintawak and Hermosa–Duhat–Balintawak transmission lines which both serve the
Metro Manila area, with the latter also serving the Central Luzon provinces
of Bataan, Pampanga, and Bulacan and has been in service since 2000 and June 1994,
respectively.
The Luzon Grid is interconnected with the Visayas Grid through HVDC Leyte-Luzon,
a high voltage direct current transmission line and submarine cable with a transfer
capacity of 440 MW between Naga and Ormoc. The Visayas Grid is composed of five
small grids (sub-grid) connected with submarine cables, but arranged in a radial
configuration, that may disconnect one sub-grid in case a fault develop on one submarine
cable interconnection. The Mindanao Grid is composed of 138,000 volt lines for long-distance transmission, and primarily
relies on hydropower, usually from Agus Hydroelectric Power Plant in Iligan and Pulangi IV Hydroelectric Power
Plant in Bukidnon.
In the Philippines, the transmission business operations is owned by the National Transmission Corporation and is
managed and operated by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) under a Concession Agreement.
The transport of electricity from one region to another is done through the high voltage overhead transmission lines. While
the three main grids encompass each island group, many islands still remain off-grid, relying on localized power plants or
power barges for supply.
The Philippines transmission grids are prone to natural disasters, aging that causes the steel and wood towers to corrode or
decay, and grid security is compromised by squatters and insurgent groups. Squatters, or "informal settlers", pose a danger
to transmission lines and a hindrance to line maintenance, especially in Metro Manila. The Mindanao Grid is prone to
sabotage, led by insurgent groups and unknown assailants, and many transmission towers have been damaged or collapsed
from consecutive bombings, that may cause a cascading failure of the grid.
Distribution Sector in the Philippines
The circulation of electricity to end-users is a controlled common carrier business
requiring
a
national
franchise.
The
power
=
4to grant national franchises is exclusively vested to the Congress of the
Philippines. Distribution of electric power to all end-users or consumers of
electricity may be handled by private distribution utilities, cooperatives, local
government units presently undertaking this function and other duly authorized
A distribution utility has the task to provide distribution services and connections
to its system for any end-user within its franchise area, as there are different
distribution utilities available for different areas, consistent with the distribution
code. They are required to provide open and non-discriminatory access to its
distribution system to all users. Retail rates charged by distribution utilities are
subject to regulation of the ERC under the principle of full recovery.
According to the National Electrification Administration (NEA), the distribution
sector is composed of 119 electric cooperatives, 16 privately owned utilities and
six local government-owned utilities as of 2009. These distribution utilities may
acquire electricity from generation companies through Power Supply Agreements
(PSA) or the Philippine Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), when certified as the distribution of electricity
requires a national franchise, for distribution to residential, commercial, industrial and other users.
Currently, Meralco is the Philippines' largest distribution utility with a franchise area of 9,337 square kilometers
covering Metro Manila, the entire provinces of Bulacan, Rizal and Cavite, parts of the provinces
of Laguna, Quezon and Batangas, and 17 barangays in Pampanga. The franchise area is home to 23 million people, roughly
a quarter of the entire Philippine population of 89 million.
Power distribution outside the Metro Manila area is handled by private distribution utilities and electric cooperatives.
Electric Cooperatives (ECs) are entities owned by the member-consumers within the vicinity covered by the said entity.
These are controlled by a Board of Directors elected by member-consumers and their management and operations
supervised by the National Electrification Administration. As of 2012, there are 121 coops recognized by the NEA and
ERC.
The Albay Power and Energy Corp. (APEC), was organized and established by SMC Global Power Holdings on
November 12, 2013, as a fully owned and controlled subsidiary. On November 19, 2013, APEC was incorporated and
registered with Securities and Exchange Commission. This was brought about by the Concession Agreement between Albay
Electric Cooperative (ALECO) and SMC Global Power Holdings, Corp. APEC assumed all rights and interests and perform
the obligations of SMC Global Power as Concessionaire under the Concession Agreement. The Concession Agreement
between ALECO and APEC was the result of the intervention of the National Electrification Administration, in a bid to
rehabilitate the cooperative. It shall have the authority to operate and manage the franchise of ALECO within the Province
of Albay.
The operations and management of APEC, as concessionaire, still extends to the whole franchise area in the Province of
Albay consisting of 15 municipalities and 3 Cities, respectively, to wit: Cities of Legazpi, Ligao and Tabaco, Municipalities
of Daraga, Camalig, Manito, Rapu-Rapu, Malinao, Malilipot, Bacacay, Sto. Domingo, Libon, Polangui, Tiwi, Guinobatan,
Oas, Jovellar, and Pio Duran. APEC officially started it’s operations on February 2014 and continued to operate and
maintain the electric distribution system in Albay up to present.
Supply Sector in the Philippines
Suppliers refer to any Person licensed by the ERC to sell, broker, market, or aggregate electricity to End-users. Examples
include Direct Power Services a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ayala Land, Inc, and MERALCO MPower.
PERFORMANCE TASK. Write T if the statement is true and F if the statement is false on the blank before each number.
_____1. Electric power transmission is the final step in the delivery of electric power service to consumers.
_____2. Major power grid interconnections are connected by direct current lines.
_____3. A transformer cannot produce power.
_____4. Common residential voltage levels are 120/240 volts.
_____5. As transmission line length increases, the voltage drop decreases.
FURTHER READING: Pages 367-373
Prepared by: Mr. John Spencer Churchill A. Estiller
Check your answers:
1. F
2. T
3. T
4. T
5. F
Subject Teacher