By Mae Singuay
Negros Electric and Power Corporation (Negros Power) launched its pilot Underground Distribution System (UDS) Project in Bacolod City yesterday, which aims to eliminate above-ground power lines within a six-kilometer stretch, starting on Lacson Street.
The groundbreaking ceremony at the Negros Occidental Capitol Lagoon was led by Roel Castro, president and chief executive officer of Negros Power, together with Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, Lone District Representative Greg Gasataya, and Negros Occidental Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer.
Negros Power chief operations officer, Engineer Bernard Bailey del Castillo, who presented the UDS Project overview during the ceremony, said P79 million has been allocated for each one-kilometer stretch.
Del Castillo said the UDS project will future-proof power lines against harsh weather, which will also reduce power outages; improve power distribution safety and reliability; and enhance urban aesthetics.
The project’s Phase 1, a one-kilometer stretch, will start from South Capitol Road to B.S. Aquino Drive.
Negros Power has also been coordinating with telecommunication companies because about 80 percent of the wires are owned by them.
“Telcos also need to remove heavy bundles of cables. Once cable wires are removed, everything will be cleared,” Del Castillo said.
Meanwhile, Castro said the 10-month UDS Project will start next year, after the awarding of the contract to the winning bidder by December.
Overhead power lines will be removed from vegetation and trees that usually cause outages.
“We don’t need anymore to cut trees along the project road,” he said.
Castro said the UDS Project is not new to Negros Power, as they are the first power distribution utility to implement the project in Bacolod.
Its sister company in Iloilo City, MORE Electric and Power Corporation, has been implementing the same project, and it is about to complete.
On the other hand, Benitez said Negros Power’s UDS Project is now a reality.
He said the project really makes sense in a highly urbanized city.
“It is really more economical, aesthetically better, and has more benefits,” Benitez said.
“That is why there is a pending proposed city ordinance for underground cabling, aiming to remove spaghetti wires, which have become an eyesore for several years already,” he added./MS, WDJ