NGCP warns of outage in Luzon

posted May 08, 2016 at 11:55 pm by  Alena Mae S. Flores

http://thestandard.com.ph/business/205166/ngcp-warns-of-outage-in-luzon.html

The right-of-way problems of National Grid Corp. of the Philippines has reached Luzon, posing a threat to the transmission of electricity to Central Luzon power customers during the critical election period.

National Grid, operator of the country’s transmission network, said it was denied entry by landowners in Nueva Ecija to trim the vegetation that posed a risk to the transmission system in the area.

“Despite repeated efforts to negotiate with landowners Dr. Manalo and Judge Mildred Hernal, NGCP was denied entry into the property to trim intentionally planted trees underneath transmission facilities as part of its pre-election maintenance activities,” the company said.

The untrimmed trees are along Cabanatuan-San Isidro 69kV line 1 and 2, and Mexico-Cabanatuan 230kV lines, which traverse the Hernals’ property in Barangay Soledad, Sta Rosa, Nueva Ecija province.

National Grid said efforts to enlist the help of the Philippine national Police and the Commission onelections proved futile after it was barred from conducting the maintenance activities inside the property.

“With the Comelec-issued resolution, we were given legal cover to access the transmission facilities and begin the clearing of trees that may hamper the transmission of electricity, but these uncooperative landowners are resisting our efforts,” the company said.

National Grid said the intentional planting of trees and plants below transmission lines might cause power outage that would burden the public, which must suffer through these service interruptions when lines tripped.

Another transmission tower of National Grid was bombed in Mindanao on May 3, further endangering the precarious power supply in the region during the election period.

Tower #25 of the Agus 2-Kibawe 138 kiloVolt line in Barangay Linamon, Ramain, Lanao del Sur was bombed and toppled in the evening of May 3. The same tower was bombed on December 24, 2015.

The restoration of the tower took almost three months because the uncooperative claimant, the Sambitory family, refused National Grid access to conduct tower repairs.

“This is the sixth bombing of NGCP towers this year. Restoration of tower 25 will commence as soon as the area is secured,” it said.

The company said that the bombings only served to increase the burden of the public, which must suffer through service interruptions when towers are bombed.