336 violations of high voltage grid safety corridors

(Baonghean)- Violations of the power grid safety corridor have been going on for a long time but there has been no thorough solution. When the electricity industry and local authorities have not found a common voice, solving the above problem is still very difficult.

Prolonged violations

Violations of the power grid safety corridor have been a painful reality in recent times. There have been tragic accidents caused by violations of power grid safety. On November 19, a worker who was constructing a housing project for PIHICO Wood Processing Company (Nam Cam Industrial Park) was electrocuted by a high-voltage power line. As a result, this worker had to be hospitalized in critical condition. It is known that the housing project under construction by PIHICO Wood Processing Company is less than 1 meter away from the high-voltage power line.

Two weeks before the accident, the Electricity Department had made a record of the company's deliberate violation of the power grid safety corridor, regardless of the danger to workers. In August, Mr. Nguyen Van Hong (Hamlet 10, Minh Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District) was electrocuted while building a house for Mr. Lang Tuan Canh's family in Hamlet Moi (Minh Thanh Commune) when his construction ruler touched the power line running above. The incident caused Mr. Hong to suffer severe burns on his right foot and arm.

A construction worker at the PIHICO Wood Processing Company (Nam Cam Industrial Park) was electrocuted by a high-voltage power line and was hospitalized in critical condition.

According to Mr. Ta Quang Lich - Deputy Head of Safety Department, Nghe An Electricity Company: Violations of the safety corridor of high voltage power grids are on the rise. Through inspection and review by power branches, from the beginning of 2015 until now, there have been 11 new violations. These violations are concentrated on power lines along national highways, inter-provincial and inter-district roads... due to households expanding and building houses on service land, encroached land, and land granted by the locality. In addition, many units build projects such as roads, irrigation, and housing but do not survey and make budget estimates to renovate or relocate power works, leading to violations of the safety corridor of power grids and violations of phase-ground distance.

The locality with the highest number of violations of the high-voltage grid safety corridor is Vinh city with 67 cases. According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Loan, Deputy Director of Vinh City Electricity, most of the violations are due to historical reasons. Previously, land management was limited, so the local government allocated land to families located within the grid safety protection corridor. Initially, these families only built level 4 houses, but later many families built high-rise buildings within the protection area. It is very difficult to persuade violators to spend their own money to renovate and move the power lines because of the large costs; moreover, if they want to move, they cannot find suitable land.

Violations of the high-voltage power grid safety corridor in block 13, Ben Thuy ward (Vinh city) have existed for many years but have not been resolved.

In Nghi Loc district, there are currently 16 violations of the high-voltage grid safety corridor, mainly building houses within the grid safety corridor protection area. In Nghi Loc, many families planted trees in the grid protection corridor, but when the Electricity Department asked the families to cut them down, they demanded compensation. According to regulations, this is a violation of the law. Mr. Hoa Xuan Thang, Deputy Director of Nghi Loc Electricity, said: Many families after cutting down trees were compensated by the Electricity Department and committed not to repeat the offense, but when the new owners came, the above situation recurred. Although the Electricity Department has mobilized, the families did not cooperate and even requested compensation at a higher price than the State's regulations. Therefore, many violations have not been resolved and have lasted until now.

Lack of coordination

One of the reasons for the long-term and difficult-to-solve violations of the grid safety corridor is the loose coordination between the Electricity sector and local authorities at all levels. First of all, the hundreds of violations of the grid safety corridor are due to limitations in surveying and granting land to people. Therefore, many families have been granted land within the grid safety corridor. When discovered, the coordination to resolve the issue still shows signs of shirking responsibility.

Mr. Hoa Xuan Thang, Deputy Director of Nghi Loc Electricity, said that there were violations, the Electricity industry sent official dispatches requesting the authorities to take measures to resolve the violations but there was no coordination. Moreover, the Electricity industry does not have the authority to impose administrative penalties, so it is very difficult to resolve the above violations.

Currently, in Hung Nguyen district, there are 6 points of violation of the power grid corridor, but the district has only grasped 1 point. According to Mr. Tran Van Lan, Deputy Head of the Department of Industry and Trade of Hung Nguyen district, when there is a violation, the local government coordinates with the Electricity Department to make a record and notify the family of the violation. However, it is very difficult to impose a penalty, which mainly depends on propaganda, mobilization and the family's self-awareness. According to Mr. Lan, in addition to the low awareness of the people, the responsibility here lies with the commune-level government when detecting the incident, which leads to the situation that when the team comes down to make a record, the people's houses have already been built, making it very difficult to handle.

Power workers clearing tree branches and bushes affects the safety of the power grid.

According to Mr. Ta Quang Lich - Deputy Head of Safety Department, (Nghe An Electricity Company): In many localities, when detecting violations, the authorities only stop at making records but have not yet imposed fines or enforced the demolition of violating works. In addition, some people, although fully aware of the level of violations and the dangers of constructing works and houses in the high-voltage grid protection corridor, still deliberately violate with the reason that they have been granted land, or bought land and then wrote a petition to the Electricity industry to relocate poles and wires. "In the coming time, local authorities should rectify the granting of land use rights, construction permits and strengthen inspection and handling to avoid new violations. When granting land or construction permits, the opinions of the Electricity industry should be consulted. For cases that have received compensation but still deliberately violate, it is necessary to resolve them completely and handle them strictly according to regulations" - Mr. Lich suggested.

Obviously, minimizing violations of the grid safety corridor is not only a solution to avoid damage to people and property, but also one of the most effective solutions to reduce power loss and save electricity. Therefore, all levels, sectors and local authorities need to proactively coordinate with the Electricity sector to establish a grid safety corridor on the basis of effectively promoting legal regulations, depending on the specific functions and tasks of each unit.

Pham Bang