News Release 31 July 2014 Uncooperative landowners delay power restoration in storm-ravaged Bicol Just a week after Tropical Storm Glenda hit the Bicol region, NGCP fully restored power transmission services to all its Bicol grid customers after re-energizing all affected NGCP lines on July 24. The restoration, however, could have been completed earlier had some landowners immediately allowed the inspection and repair of damaged structures along the affected high-voltage lines in Barangay Del Rosario, Naga City, Camarines Sur. In fact, months prior to the beginning of the typhoon season, NGCP already identified twelve (12) structures of Naga-Naga and Naga-Libmanan 69-kiloVolt (kV) double circuit lines and three (3) structures of Naga-Labo 230-kV lines as particularly troublesome because of right-of-way (ROW) negotiations with the landowners. Despite negotiations and repeated pleas together with the barangay officials and the intervention of the City Government of Naga and the Provincial Government of Camarines Sur, the landowners did not allow NGCP linemen to enter the properties to conduct inspection and maintenance work. In April 2014, three months before Tropical Storm Glenda affected Bicol, NGCP requested permission from the landowners to enter the properties to conduct the necessary maintenance works on the transmission lines. The landowners were warned by NGCP that the breakdown of aging woodpole structures within their properties would result to the loss of bulk power supply to Naga City and western municipalities of Camarines Sur. For public safety, NGCP emphasized that the maintenance and correction works it intended to conduct was of an urgent nature, and must be immediately implemented. NGCP further stated in the letter to the landowners that it is aware that the properties are subject of a pending case in the Supreme Court, between (the landowners) and the National Power Corporation (NPC), but because public safety was an issue, NGCP urged the landowners to allow them to conduct the necessary works pending the final resolution of the legal case. The landowners denied NGCP’s request to access the properties and prohibited NGCP, TransCo personnel, their subsidiaries, contractors and agents from entering into any part of the owners’ private properties. NGCP also considered re-routing the affected section just to expedite the matter, but after much study and consideration, it deemed the rerouting option not viable since the adjacent lots are still owned by the said uncooperative landowners. “NGCP is proactive in solving ROW issues. We do not want to wait for more trippings and accidents to happen. We are reaching out to LGUs and enjoin the help of landowners themselves so that we can work together in taking care of the power lines and ensuring the public’s safety,” said NGCP President and CEO Henry Sy, Jr. “We want to prevent the occurrence of blackouts in the areas served by these transmission lines. The landowners’ cooperation is crucial to the resolution of this issue, and on a larger scale, the reliability of the entire grid,” Mr. Sy added. After the passage of Tropical Storm Glenda, nine (9) structures were toppled and/or leaning inside the properties with ROW issues. Again, restoration works inside the premises were hampered by these uncooperative landowners. To immediately restore power transmission services to Camarines Sur, NGCP was constrained to bypass the affected structures using the Naga-Labo 230-kV Line 1. The said scheme, however, is only temporary and was done to immediately restore power in the province. It is, by no means, permanent, as there is a risk that there will be curtailment of the transfer capability of the High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) and the generation of surrounding plants. Moreover, the scheme also affects the reliability and security of the entire Bicol sub-grid. There is no assurance that the temporary scheme can withstand another typhoon. Thus, NGCP is pushing for immediate access to these properties so that the badly needed repair/replacement activities may be conducted, before another typhoon passes through the region. “It is unfortunate that these landowners cannot see past their own interests for the common good. This is not for NGCPs benefit or for private gain. The right-of-way in question is for the benefit of a public facility, and the immediate and primary beneficiaries are the consumers of the Bicol region,” Sy emphasized. “We are still hopeful that these landowners realize the gravity of the situation, and allow us to do our work so that the Bicolanos can enjoy a more stable supply of power.” NGCP is a privately owned corporation in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s power grid. NGCP transmits high-voltage electricity through “power superhighways” that include the interconnected system of transmission lines and towers, substations and related assets. Safety clearance violations are detrimental not just to NGCP’s technical operations, but also to public safety. Electrocution, accidents, and line trippings or outages which affect not just NGCP but also electricity consumers may be averted with maintenance and correction work. NGCP’s regular maintenance activities and expansion projects aim to enhance the reliability and quality of electricity delivered to grid customers. ###
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 01:25:45 +0000
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