• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Negros Power Corporation has started installing Automatic Circuit Reclosers (ACRs) in 15 priority feeders under its franchise area, to lessen the number of its customers affected by the brownouts.
The ACR is essentially a self-contained device with necessary intelligence to sense over currents to time and interrupt fault currents, and to re-energize the line by reclosing automatically, according to Negros Power president Roel Castro.
Of the 40 ACRs they purchased, eight were already installed, according to Castro.
He said that if you sectionalize a feeder by placing an ACR in between, not all the clients will be affected by the unexpected power outages, but only half of them.
The 15 priority feeders are Sections 1 and 2 of Hilangban Feeder 4, Sections 1, 2, 3 of Talisay Feeder 3, Sections 1, 2 and 3 Lopez Feeder 1, Sections 1, 2 and 3 of Murcia Feeder 3. Gonzaga Feeder 6, Sum-ag Feeder, Hilangban Feeder 1, and Burgos Feeder.
There are 13,000 consumers in eight of 15 prioritized feeders where ACRs have been installed.
The purchase of 40 ACRs, worth P600,000 each, form part of the P2 billion modernization program of Negros Power, according to Castro.
He expects the completion of ACR installation and energization in priority feeders by the first quarter of next year.*
