NGCP scores ‘uncooperative landowners’ for delaying power restoration in Bicol

Some landowners are delaying the restoration of power in Bicol in the wake of Typhoon Glenda (Rammasun), the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines said Friday.

The NGCP said these include landowners of nine structures toppled or leaning toward properties with right-of-way issues after Glenda.

“It is unfortunate that these landowners cannot see past their own interests for the common good. This is not for NGCP's benefit or for private gain. The right-of-way in question is for the benefit of a public facility, and the immediate and primary beneficiaries are the consumers of the Bicol region,” NGCP president and CEO Henry Sy Jr. said.

Glenda devastated Bicol last July 15. It eventually left at least 98 dead and more than P10 billion in damage to property.

For now, the NGCP said it had to bypass the affected structures using the Naga-Labo 230-kV Line 1 as a temporary measure to immediately restore power to Camarines Sur.

But it said there is a risk of curtailment of the transfer capability of the High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) and the generation of surrounding plants.

Also, it said the scheme affects the reliability and security of the entire Bicol sub-grid.

"There is no assurance that the temporary scheme can withstand another typhoon," the NGCP said, adding it is pushing for immediate access to these properties so repair and replacement activities may be conducted.

NGCP noted it had re-energized affected NGCP lines last July 24, and fully restored power transmission services to its Bicol grid customers.

Yet it said the restoration could have been completed earlier if some landowners allowed the inspection and repair of damaged structures along the high-voltage lines in Barangay del Rosario in Naga City.

Before the typhoon season started, the NGCP said it already identified potential trouble involving 12 structures of Naga-Naga and Naga-Libmanan 69-KV double circuit lines and three structures of Naga-Labo 230-kV lines, due to right-of-way negotiations with the landowners.

"Despite negotiations and repeated pleas together with the barangay officials and the intervention of the city government of Naga and the provincial government of Camarines Sur, the landowners did not allow NGCP linemen to enter the properties to conduct inspection and maintenance work," the NGCP said.

In April 2014, NGCP said it requested permission from the landowners to enter the properties for maintenance work on the transmission lines.

NGCP said it warned the landowners the breakdown of aging woodpole structures in their properties may mean brownouts in parts of Camarines Sur.

It added that while the properties are the subject of a pending case before the Supreme Court, public safety was an issue.

Also, NGCP said it considered re-routing the affected section but said this was impractical since the adjacent lots are still owned by the "uncooperative" landowners. — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News