NGCP still bugged by ROW violations

Manila Times.net

Written by Madelaine B. Miraflor, Reporter  Publisher on 23 January 2013

Because of right-of-way (ROW) violations, 44 power outages and line trippings nationwide were recorded
by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), with 25 registered in Mindanao alone.

In an interview, NGCP Spokesperson lawyer Cynthia Alabanza said that the common ROW violations the company encounters are planting of trees within the ROW corridor, grass fires at or around facilities, squatting and putting up of structures under transmission lines, and kite flying.

“All of these activities can disrupt the transmission of power and cause power outages,” she said.

“The year 2012 saw a nationwide total of 44 outages or line trippings caused by ROW violations. Twenty-five incidents, or more than half of the total, occurred in Mindanao alone,” Alabanza added.

She noted that ROW violations imply additional cost to the NGCP, because it has to clear the land of vegetation and structures before it can perform maintenance work.

In addition to operational problems, NGCP also warned the public of the safety hazards for ROW violators, specifying that transmission lines are open lines that carry a minimum of 69,000 volts and a maximum of 500,000 volts.

“You don’t even have to touch the lines to be electrocuted.  Electricity induction may occur once the safe clearance is breached. In other words, if you get near enough, even without touching the lines, you are in danger of being electrocuted,” Alabanza said.

“Our lines carry electricity that is more than 300 times the  power of the electricity flowing in our households, which is just 220 volts. Breaching our safety clearances can be fatal,” she added.

NGCP also admitted that it is having a hard time solving ROW problems that affect its field operations.

NGCP is a privately-owned corporation controlled by Henry Sy that is in charge of operating, maintaining the country’s power grid. It transmits high-voltage electricity through a “power superhighways” that include the interconnected system of transmission lines and towers, substations and related assets.   source