Name and Course: FALLADO, Jade Albert G., BSEE
Date: November 24, 2022
Activity: Agus 1/2 Hydro Power Plant Tour 2022
Time: 10:10 am (Agus 2)
2:29 pm (Agus 1)
For my tour in hydroelectric power plant tour that are held at Agus 1 & 2 at the 24th day of
November. We gathered at the COE buliding of the time at 8:30 am. Our tour first began at agus 2
instead of agus 1 first. Before we arrived, we experience a slight problem, which is we almost got lost
because the vehicle of our beloved professor Khalid took ahead without realizing that we have already
our destination, so we took a turn to get back to our track. Luckily at 9:30 am, we arrived at agus 2. The
purpose of this visit is to help electrical and electronics engineering students of MSU-Main to have an
actual exposure in the field of our specialization. This tour is required to my major course at EEE176
that is industrial electronics, my first tour after the face-to-face classes began and after 2 and a half
years of conducting online classes at MSU-Marawi Campus. For our tour at agus 2, we were introduced
by higher officials of the said HEP plant, some of them were former lecturers and alumni of MSU-Marawi
campus, we were oriented very well by their enthusiasm, with their humor, we feel excited and active
before starting the program. At the start of the introduction, we were introduced by Engr. Tantawi R.
Muti, the division manager by his short presentation of agus HEP plant and its local branches starting
from agus 1 electricity to agus 7 near in iligan area, he introduced us the geography of lake Lanao as
the main source of the generation of. We were informed that agus 3 is not operational due to political
issues.
The presentation began at agus 2, to which it is a hydroelectric power plant with tree generating
units having a combined capacity of 180 MW, it was commissioned in 1979. It is located at Saguiran,
Lanao del Sur to which it has a capacity of 60 MW in each of its units and a maximum of 80 MW.
Before we begin our tour, the officials oriented us about safety and protocols and then our tour
from agus 1 & 2 is always comprised 14 members in each 4 groups, comprised with two engineers as
our tour guide in agus 2, I was in second group at that time but differ with agus 1 as we have each
engineer in each group. In agus 2, they explained the concepts of how does the Hydroelectric power
plant works as part of the power generating company, they explained the parts of Pump Storage
Hydropower (PSH) or Pumped Storage Plant (PSP) which serves as the important role in bringing
more renewable resources onto the grid. According to professor Khalid with references from MinDA, it
is said that the generation of electricity in Mindanao has 21% or 591.2 MW that uses hydro that is the
second largest source of our electricity and the largest source of renewable energy in Mindanao.
Next is 19.1 MW or 1% for bio, 56.9MW or 2% for solar, 75 MW or 3% for geothermal, 523.2
MW or 19% for diesel and 54% or 1,490.5 MW as the major source of power generations that comes
from burning of coal. Agus 2 uses a diversion technology, sometimes called a “run-of-river” facility,
channels a portion of a river through a canal and/or a penstock to utilize the natural decline of the river
bed elevation to produce energy. A penstock is a closed conduit that channels the flow of water to
turbines with water flow regulated by gates, valves, and turbines and this may not require the use of a
dam. Each branches have its own Pumped Storage Plant, comprises of turbines and generators,
turbine is where the water from the reservoir flows through the plant, exits and is carried by downstream,
\
it is a device
capable of transforming the kinetic energy of water into mechanical energy.
It is estimated that turbines are able to convert over 90% of water’s kinetic energy into mechanical
energy. When he showed the turbine, we were amazed of its massive size, the engineers explained to
us that hydroelectric turbine is made up of a stationary part called a distributor or stator, and a wheel
or impeller. The former directs and regulates the flow of water, while the latter transfers the kinetic
energy derived from the water to the shaft on which the wheel or impeller is mounted. The PSP uses
open- loop system to which it connects to the ongoing natural body of water like rivers.
According to the engineers who accompanied us at agus 2 said that we were very lucky
because we saw the interior of the rotor because it is rarely opened. Some of them, were in under
maintenance. A pumped-storage plant has two reservoirs: first is the upper reservoir where the water
in this reservoir flows through the hydropower plant to create electricity and lower reservoir is where the
water exits the hydropower plant. By using reversible turbine, the plant can pump water back to the
upper reservoir. This is done in off-peak hours. Essentially, the second reservoir refills the upper
reservoir. By pumping water back to the upper reservoir, the plant has more water to generate electricity
during periods of peak consumption.
The generator is the heart of the hydroelectric power plant is the generator. Most hydropower
plants have several of these generators, that has a capability of generating electricity.
Each generator is made up basic parts: the shaft, excitor, rotor and stator. The shaft is a
revolving rod that transmits power or motion. As the turbine turns, the excitor sends an electrical current
to the rotor, the rotor is a series of large electromagnets that spins inside a tightly-wound coil of copper
wire, called the stator. The magnetic field between the coil and the magnets creates an electric current.
The basic process of generating electricity in this manner is to rotate a series of magnets inside the coils
of wire. This process moves electrons, which produces electrical current.
The next area is the Control Room that is located at the fifth level of the powerhouse. The interior
of it is comprised of the following equipment: the main control switchboard, 480-V service switchgear
and various state of the art control, protection and monitoring systems. They said that the control room
is the central control and monitoring station for security, regulation, safety and other types of control
system to ensure the reliable operation of the electric system.
After we learned of how the control room works, we went outside the PSH where we see the
Three Power Transformers that each has a rating of 77 MVA, this is responsible for delivering the
power to the NGCP Saguiaran Substation. After we took a long break, we went to the power intake
infrastructure, we saw three tunnels that connects between the Surge Tank and the Power Intake via
Approach Channel. The engineers explained to us that the tanks are supported by a massive concrete
foundation to control high water pressure exerted going to the powerhouse and to maintain waterhead,
while the penstocks convey the water from the power intake structure to the powerhouse.
After they to us the fundamental function of the Power Intake and Approach Channel, I leardned
that power intake is consists of a gate to open or close the water feed to prevent major debris to enter
the system and direct it into the penstocks, while the approach channel is the one who diverts the peach
river from its current course as it goes around the dam and towards the powerhouse, where the water
will be used to generate electricity.
For the next destination of our tour after lunch, we visit Agus 1 which is located at Marawi
población, with its estimated area of 357 square kilometer and maximum depth of 112 meters is the
main source of power generation here in Lanao del Sur. The requirement to generate electricity at
HEP agus 1 is to let the energy available from the moving water that depends on both the volume of
the water to flow with the change in elevation. When it flows through hydropower facilities, the greater
the flow and the higher the head, the more the electricity that can be generated by converting the
motion of waterflow by using turbines and generators. At the plant level, water flows through a pipe
also known as a penstock and then spins the blades in a turbine, which, in turn, spins a generator
that ultimately produces electricity. In agus 1 it uses impoundment technology, the most common
type of hydroelectric power plant which stores water in a reservoir that is lake Lanao for example,
when the water is released from the reservoir, it flows through and spins a turbine, spinning it in turn
of activating a generator to produce electricity. It has other options like releasing of water to meet
changing electricity needs or other needs, such as flood control, recreation, fish passage, and other
environmental and water quality needs.
The next area we tour is the Power Transformers and the Switchyard with the capacity of
52 MVA. Our tour guide explained that the step-up power transformer generates a voltage from 13
kV up to 138 kV, serving the four power circuit breakers switchyard at agus 1 that are responsible for
the transmitting of power to agus 1 and to agus 2 transmission lines.
The engineer who accompanied us told us brief story that there was once a diver who used to work
at the power intake area died because of the high current of water and miscommunication of the
operator in that area for the sake of not affecting their work of power generation. I learned that for all
we can say is that our intuition as an engineer, when we work for a certain workplace such as power
generating company like agus 1 and 2 for example, we work hard like your life depends on your own
decisions to the point of not jeopardizing the work of the company.
The application that I saw during our tour where we can relate it to the industrial or power
electronics course. First are rectifier circuits that converts alternating current sinusoidal waveform
into direct current that flows in only one direction. Second, the SCR circuits can be used as an
excitation control in hydroelectric generating stations, by using SCR based excitation system, it is
possible to regulate the output voltage statically. Third, the closed loop excitation control also called
automatic voltage regulators that can maintain the voltage constant even in the disturbance on the
transmission line and in hydro power plant, the computer-controlled excitation system regulates the
output voltage of the generator by sensing the output voltage.
The industrial or power electronics technology plays an immense role in the development of
hydroelectric power generation specifically in improving the overall efficiency, controllability, grid
integration, island operation, the speed control in different modes and as well as for frequency and
voltage control. Industrial electronics have been considered as an important technology, resulting in
the energy conversion and reduction of mechanical system. Especially, the industrial electronics unit
employs speed control at different level of water flow to have a prominent efficiency. Industrial
electronics enabled pumped storage power plant to have a flexibility in operation and produces high
efficiency also provides benefits like part load operation, speed adoption and power quality.