NGCP asks residents to avoid kaingin
Power grid operator NGCP appeals to residents and farmers to avoid “kaingin” and other similar activities near or under the sub-transmission and transmission lines that could start grass fires which may spread towards wood pole structures.
In Samar and Eastern Visayas, incidents of grass fire resulted in the burning of NGCP’s 69kiloVolt (kV) wood poles, which led to power interruptions of up to 8 hours affecting Samar I Electric Cooperative and Northern Samar Electric Cooperative.
In Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, and Bulacan, where rice farming is a primary source of income, burned hay and grass interrupted the transmission of power. The thick smoke from a burning fire near or under the high-voltage lines may create a conductive path for a “flashover” across the air gap between the three (3) conductors of a transmission line.
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, towers, substations, and related assets. The consortium, which holds the 25-year concession contract to operate the country’s power transmission network, is comprised of Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp. led by Henry Sy, Jr., Calaca High Power Corporation led by Robert Coyiuto, Jr., and the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) as technical partner.
