NGCP appeals vs. kaingin that cause power outages

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Amid continuing drought in various parts of the country, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has appealed to the public, particularly farmers, to refrain from “kaingin” and other practices that could start brush fires that could burn electric wooden poles.

The NGCP issued this appeal amid reports of such fires affecting wooden poles and leading to power outages.

“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 so-called flashover across the air gap between the three conductors of a transmission line,” the NGCP said in a statement.

The NGCP also noted that in Samar and Eastern Visayas, recent brush fires resulted in the burning of its 69-kiloVolt (kV) wood poles, which led to power interruptions of up to eight hours affecting Samar I Electric Cooperative and Northern Samar Electric Cooperative.