The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on Monday has reminded the public, particularly settlers in urban areas, to respect transmission line safety clearances.
“Living underneath our lines is not only unsafe, but it poses a real threat to the security and reliability of the grid. Breaching our ROW clearances can cause line tripping and possible grid collapse. These homes and structures should never have been built so close to, or directly underneath our lines, given the inherent danger of the area, and the critical nature of these facilities in the delivery of power to the different parts of the country,” NGCP stressed.
A fire incident close to two transmission lines has placed NGCP operations at risk as it could have tripped the transmission lines serving Metro Manila and surrounding provinces. The two lines carry 1265 megawatts (MW), with Quezon – San Jose 230 kV lines 1 and 2 carrying 618MW each, and Quezon – San Rafael 230kV with 28 MW load.
“We are grateful that the Bureau of Fire Protection responded immediately to put out the fire. Heavy smoke underneath high voltage transmission lines can cause interruption of transmission services. Since these lines are critical to delivering power to Metro Manila, we could have suffered through a metro-wide power interruption had the fire not been abated quickly,” NGCP added.
NGCP is in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s power grid.