Lanao Norte town asked to help clear areas under high-voltage NGCP lines

Business Mirror

Published on Thursday, 14 March 2013 17:55

Written by Lenie Lectura / Reporter

THE National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) is seeking the intervention of the local government of Baloi, Lanao del Norte, in sanctioning violators of the 50-meter wide clearing under high-voltage transmission lines in the area.

In an effort to curb the frequency of blackouts due to line trippings caused by the obstruction of power lines, Baloi Mayor Elias Madid Lope Ali and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan initiated a public hearing on March 9 to address the growing issue.

The proposed provincial ordinance will penalize tree planting and the erection of structures underneath NGCP lines in Lanao del Norte.

The NGCP singled out Mindanao, specifically the Baloi area, as particularly troublesome in terms of right-of-way (ROW) violations.

Clearing activities under the 138-kiloVolt (kV) transmission lines emanating from the substation are difficult because of uncooperative landowners.

In January 2013 alone, the Baloi-Agus 2 138-kV line tripped seven times because trees were deliberately planted by landowners beneath the lines.

The Baloi substation and lines emanating from it are facilities crucial to the entire Mindanao grid because the bulk of the power generated from the government’s Agus Complex enters the grid through the said substation.

The Agus Complex supplies 500 megawatts (MW) to the Mindanao grid, representing about 60 percent of the island’s total current supply. At least 200 MW consumed by South Mindanao pass through the NGCP’s Baloi substation and the transmission lines emanating from it.

NGCP President and Chief Executive Officer Henry T. Sy Jr. expressed his appreciation and gratitude for the local government unit’s prompt action. “NGCP is thankful for the assistance Mayor Ali and the municipality of Baloi has extended us. The company’s sole purpose in this endeavor is to prevent the occurrence of blackouts in the large areas served by the Agus 2 power lines. Their support in lobbying for the passage of this ordinance is crucial to the resolution of this issue, and on a larger scale, the reliability of the Mindanao grid.”

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