Geodata Systems Technologies, Inc. (GSTI), ESRI's distributor in the Republic of the Philippines, has won a contract worth more than $600,000 to implement a GIS-based assets management system for Districts 1 and 2 of the National Transmission Corporation (TRANSCO). TRANSCO is responsible for electrical transmission for the country's National Power Corporation.

Philippines Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla said that the adoption of geographic information system (GIS) technology by TRANSCO is significant in that it not only marks the anniversary of the signing of the 2001 Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), but it will greatly help in achieving the policies set forth by the government in enacting and implementing EPIRA.

Dr. Alan T. Ortiz, TRANSCO CEO and president, adds that the project will provide digitized mapping for all of the corporation's energy assets. "We presently do not have this kind of mapping in the Philippines. If we are going to be a truly world-class transmission company this GIS system must be in place.”

According to Francisca Nasol-Dayrit, GSTI executive vice president, "The TRANSCO GIS project will be powered by ESRI’s GIS software, ArcGIS 9.” The software suite includes ArcInfo, ArcView, ArcGIS Server, ArcGIS 3D Analyst, ArcGIS Spatial Analyst, ArcGIS Schematics, ArcGIS Data Interoperability Extension, ArcSDE, ArcPad, ArcPad Application Builder, and the Leica photogrammetry suite.

TRANSCO will also implement the Transmission Asset Management Information System (TAMIS) application of POWER Engineers, Inc. that is based on ESRI’s ArcGIS and will be ported to Oracle 10g. With TAMIS, TRANSCO staff will be able to display, query, and analyze digital maps for data such as best route to a facility, obstacles along a transmission route, land ownership where transmission lines pass, topography, aerial imagery, fault locator, and so on.

In addition to the GIS components, GSTI and F.F. Cruz & Co. will also develop and deliver to TRANSCO several sets of digital maps. One set contains an assortment of aerial photos and satellite images. Another set will include TRANSCO’s assets such as offices, warehouses, substations, communication relay stations, transmission lines, towers, control centers, communication facilities, and fiber-optic cables. Also provided will be several thematic maps of various scales depicting administrative boundaries, public infrastructure, road networks, river and water bodies, vegetation cover, land use, land classification, tenurial rights, soils and geology, protected areas and indigenous peoples sites, hazard areas, and some demographic data.