More than 500 km of exposed electrical wires at risk of deadly electrocution

(Baonghean.vn) - In 2009, communes in Quynh Luu district handed over the rural power grid to the electricity sector for management. Since the handover, the power grid system in many communes still has many shortcomings, transformer stations are degraded, and exposed power lines have not been 'covered', causing a very high risk of electric discharge.

Quynh Luu is the "leading" locality in the province in terms of exposed power lines... In Quynh Tan - a commune located 15 km from the center of Quynh Luu district, the locality has the most degraded power grid system compared to other communes in the district. In 2010, Quynh Tan commune handed over the rural low-voltage power grid to Quynh Luu Electricity to directly sell electricity to each household, this policy was widely supported by the people. However, after handing over the power grid, the quality of electricity was still not guaranteed, the electricity was very weak. In particular, the exposed power line system has not been replaced with insulated wire, which is very dangerous for households living under the power lines.

The electric wire is in the path of trees, dangerous when storms come.

Mr. Ho Minh Mau - Chairman of Quynh Tan Commune People's Committee said that the whole commune still has 80% of the bare power lines that have not been replaced with insulated wires. This situation has lasted for many years but has not been resolved. Hundreds of households living under the bare power lines are worried, fearing that the risk of electric shock can occur at any time.

Unsafe low voltage bare power grid in Quynh Ba commune.

In addition to the bare electric wires not being replaced with insulated wires, the power grid in the commune is in a state of serious degradation; the electricity is very weak, making it impossible to cook rice.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, in village 2, was upset: “My family has lived under the bare power lines for decades, the house is about 1 meter away from the power lines, during the rainy season, the wind and rain are very dangerous, the meter often short-circuits and burns. Moreover, the electricity is very weak, the rice is not cooked. I hope the electricity industry will pay attention, replace the power lines, upgrade, and install more transformers to ensure the use of electricity.”

Bare electrical wires running through corrugated iron roofs are susceptible to electrocution.

According to statistics, 8/16 villages in the commune use weak electricity all day, rice cannot be cooked, and electric fans rotate very slowly. In addition, the transformer station system has been used for many years and has seriously degraded. To meet the electricity demand, the commune has requested the electricity industry to install 5 more transformer stations to meet the electricity needs of the people.

The above situation is not only in Quynh Tan commune but also in many other communes such as An Hoa, Quynh Thang, Tan Thang, Quynh Yen... having to live with the scene of low-voltage bare power lines hanging in the sky without any safety protection.

The exposed power line is located right under the corrugated iron roof of a house in An Hoa commune.

Mr. Ho Duc Luyen - Chairman of Quynh Yen Commune People's Committee said that in the commune, there are currently 2 cooperatives that have handed over the rural power grid to Quynh Luu Electricity for management, namely Yen Dong and Thuong Yen, the remaining cooperative Nam Yen has not yet handed over. The 2 cooperatives have handed over but the power line system has not been replaced yet. Many power poles are broken, people even have to use wooden and bamboo poles to support the power lines. The locality has sent many official dispatches and petitions to the electricity sector but so far they have not been resolved.

For the households of Nam Yen Cooperative, Quynh Yen Commune, they are extremely afraid because they are still living with bare power lines running through their houses. Nam Yen Cooperative has about 900 households using electricity managed by the Cooperative. Currently, 100% of the power line system is bare wire, running through hundreds of households, some households are only 30 cm away from the power lines.

The exposed power line is located away from the wall of Mr. Ho Van Phu's house in Hamlet 8, Quynh Yen Commune.

Mr. Ho Van Phu in Hamlet 8, Quynh Yen Commune said that his family has been living with low-voltage exposed power lines for many years. Because the power lines are only 30cm close to the wall of the house, he cannot build a house on the second floor for fear of being electrocuted. Besides Mr. Phu's family, there are many other households in the same situation.

Regarding the above situation, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Quy - Director of Quynh Luu Electricity said: After receiving the handover of the rural low-voltage grid, the Electricity Company has renovated and upgraded a number of transformer stations and replaced bare power lines. Currently, Quynh Luu Electricity is managing 1,500 km of bare low-voltage lines, about 1,000 km of lines have been replaced with safety-coated wires, the remaining 500 km of bare power lines are spread throughout the communes in the area.

In response to people's concerns about the system and quality of power sources not being guaranteed, Mr. Quy said: Currently, the Electricity Department does not have the funds to repair and replace them all at once, and must wait for funding from higher levels.

Viet Hung