Operational practices, controls and defense plans for Mindanao – Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP) in the Philippines

Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao islands are the three major islands of the Philippines. Currently, Luzon and Visayas are interconnected via HVDC monopole (LVIP) with 440MW transfer capacity. By December 2020, also Visayas and Mindanao will be interconnected via HVDC bipole (MVIP) with 450MW transfer capacity. With the 3 major islands interconnected, Philippines will be connected as one grid.

Considering this new configuration of the network, CESI is reviewing the operational practices, controls and defense plans to guarantee the secure operation of the whole interconnected system. The new MVIP HVDC link will have an important impact in terms of frequency control in both normal and emergency condition and its Frequency Control (FC) should be coordinated with the control of the existing LVIP HVDC link, considering also the dynamic characteristics of the three major interconnected islands.

The main goals of the consultancy service provided by CESI are the following:

• Assess the security and analyze the dynamic behavior of the interconnected system
• Study coordinated Frequency Controls (FC) of LVPI and MVIP links to efficiently share and release the primary frequency regulation among the three main islands
• Study Emergency Controls for the LVIP and MVIP allowing to minimize the operation of remedial actions such like the Under Frequency Load Shedding (UFLS)
• Study the necessary remedial actions to address the security issues identified in the above-mentioned security assessment
• Calculate the short circuits current levels and evaluate the adequacy of the braking capacities of circuit breakers
• Implement and test the designed FC control settings for LVIP and MVIP

Execute the technology transfer on the performed studies.