Davao Light Careers Sustainability

Tailor’s daughter, now lead engineer of Davao Light

March 08, 2023

Engineer Nesvelle “Nes” Mae Pascua-Amper has a friendly face that make people feel at ease when talking to her. We were seated in a small conference room at the headquarters of Davao Light and Power Co. Inc., an Aboitiz Power Corporation subsidiary, talking about her role in the company.

“I’m used to working in a male-dominated environment just like any other woman who’s studying electrical engineering or working in the same field. [But] there isn't any difference when it comes to opportunities offered for both men and women in the company,” Nes said.

“In a conversation with our President and COO Rodger Velasco, I heard that the company is now more conscious of hiring more women engineers,” she added. "The company is not biased when it comes to decision making, they make you feel like you’re really a part of the team.”

When asked how she became a Planning Engineer for Network Protection of Davao Light, Nes recalls how she started as an AboitizPower scholar.

“Since my father’s job as a tailor cannot fully support my studies, I applied to several scholarship programs, including the AboitizPower Distribution Utilities scholarship during my fourth and fifth years in college,” Nes shared.

Aside from the tuition and stipend, the scholarship also provided her with board and fare expenses, as well as books. Nes graduated Cum Laude from the Mindanao State University (MSU) in General Santos City in 2017.

After passing the board exam, she applied to Davao Light as part of the Engineering Corps program of the company. Since 2019, Nes has been assigned to the Power Systems Planning Department (PSPD) of Davao Light.

“We provide settings for all the devices that protect the electric distribution networks such as the substations of Davao Light,” she explained.

Responsible for designing and implementing approved protection and control systems of Davao Light’s power systems, Nes takes the lead in improving the digital substations of the power utility. Nes is also responsible for stimulating and foreseeing protection methods to protect the company's power system components during abnormal conditions.

Protection schemes are important to ensure a reliable, safe, and secure power supply to Davao Light customers. They are in place to ensure the safety of electrical devices such as power lines and substations during electrical faults caused by strong winds, animals, vegetation, or branches falling off trees. They also ensure the reliability of Davao Light’s power supply since the devices are kept in good condition. Lastly, these schemes help ensure that the power supply will not be cut off despite electrical faults, so there is a steady supply of electricity to keep appliances running.

Among her major projects during her career was the Calinan Substation, a partially digital substation as digitalization is on the station level only. Nes shared that the project was memorable because it was implemented during the height of the pandemic. Nes has since led several projects, including the Maa Substation Upgrade (a hybrid digital substation) and one of Davao Light's first fully digital substation using Software Defined Network, Binugao Substation.

Nes practices a vegan lifestyle and enjoys badminton, bowling, weight lifting, and going to the gym during her free time.