By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD CITY – Negros Electric and Power Corporation (NEPC) installed 18 concrete electric posts along a road in Barangay Granada, Bacolod City, on Tuesday.
The installation is part of NEPC’s PHP2.5 billion five-year rehabilitation and development plan to enhance the quality of electricity in the city.
In November 2024, NEPC and the Bacolod City government launched an underground distribution project covering a one-kilometer stretch of Lacson Street.
NEPC President and CEO Roel Castro said the underground system will eventually span six kilometers, with the first phase costing PHP79 million. He highlighted the system’s benefits, including improved safety by reducing exposure to foreign elements and enhanced reliability for consumers.
The company aims to complete this initial phase before the MassKara Festival this year.
Recently, NEPC conducted preventive maintenance on the 44-year-old Bacolod-Silay 69-kilovolt (KV) subtransmission line, which serves the Lopez, Panaogao, and Talisay substations.
This maintenance is part of a broader initiative to modernize aging equipment within NEPC’s electricity distribution system.
As part of the upgrade, NEPC replaced old, brittle pin insulators on the Bacolod-Silay subtransmission line with more durable models to prevent unexpected large-scale outages affecting the substations.
Additionally, the company upgraded power lines along Burgos Street under Burgos Feeder 3 by installing tree wires, new pin insulators, and cross arms. These measures aim to reduce the risk of widespread power interruptions and are included in the five-year modernization plan.
NEPC plans to replace outdated porcelain insulators with polymer insulators, which are more durable and suitable for long-term use.
The Bacolod-Silay 69KV subtransmission line, inherited from the National Transmission Corporation in 1980, has been described by NEPC as “extremely outdated.” NEPC attributed at least 10 unscheduled power interruptions to the aging porcelain insulators since the company began operations in August 2024.
