DAVAO CITY—The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) sought the assistance of the government and the Armed Forces of the Philippines as its right-of-way (ROW) woes breached critical level with the sustained tripping of the Agus 2-Kibawe Line 1 in Mindanao.
“The tripping of the line was caused by a fallen tree cutting the line conductors. This leaves NGCP with only one line catering to the Agus 1 and 2 power plants and threatening the entire Mindanao island with complete isolation from these hydropower plants should the remaining line become unavailable,” NGCP said in a statement to the press.
According to the company, landowners are refusing entry to NGCP personnel deployed to clear and restore these lines which are vital to the grid.
NGCP is requesting that Department of Energy and government forces should negotiate immediately to landowners in order to clear the lines and resolve the power woes.
“It has become the practice of some uncooperative landowners to intentionally plant trees or build structures under high voltage transmission lines, and demand for recompense when we seek entry into the property to conduct maintenance activities. The trees and other structures under our facilities breach our safety clearances and endanger the reliability of the entire grid,” NGCP said.(davaotoday.com)
