The Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) continues to aggressively boost its efficiency and reliability by digitalizing its power substation.
Converting analog into a fully-digital substation enables DLPC to improve its performance, reliability, and monitoring.
“The digital substation kasi will lessen the number of connection of copper connections. Imagine reducing the number of copper we use from 23 kilometers to less than one kilometer. That’s for the sustainability,” said Rodger S. Velasco, president and chief operating officer of DLPC, during Wednesdays Habi at Kape media forum.
He also said that although an emergency shutdown is inevitable, its digital substation will help DLPC the immediate restoration of any outage as the substation can self-diagnose.
“It tells us directly through text or via web what’s the status of the sub-station unlike the conventional where we have to go to the substation, technicians will look for the trouble and it will take time. With the digital sub-station the restoration process will be faster. That’s the value to our customers,” he said.
On December 8, 2021, DLPC energized its first fully digital substation located in Ponciano Reyes Street.
The P. Reyes Substation uses software-defined networks (SDN) which is a type of communication network that is more secure against cyber threats than the traditional ethernet networks. This system was developed in-house using commercially-available technologies. Both Davao Light and its fellow AboitizPower subsidiary, Visayan Electric Company, Inc. pioneered the use of SDN in the country.
