Hotline of power engineering specialists:
Specialists of IDGC of Centre - Tambovenergo division warn about the prohibition of any actions in security zones of power grid facilities that disrupt work.
According to clause 8 of the Rules for the establishment of protected zones of electric grid facilities and special conditions for the use of land plots located within the borders of such zones, approved by Resolution of the Russian Federation Government No. 160 of 24 February 2009, it is prohibited to perform any actions that may violate safe operation of electric grid facilities, including damage or destruction, and (or) entail harm to life, health of citizens, and property of individuals or legal entities, including connecting foreign objects to wires and poles, as well as to climb overhead power line poles.
This prohibition also applies to unauthorized suspension of cables of fiber-optic communication lines (FOCL), which are installed without obligatory coordination with power engineers (owners of electric grid facilities), which is a gross violation of current electrical safety standards and makes it difficult to carry out repair and maintenance and emergency repair works at overhead power lines. The weight of the fiber optic cable and its tension between the poles requires the mandatory calculation of the loads on the pole, since exceeding the standards can be critical and lead to the pole fall and, as a result, to a break in the power supply of consumers and to accidents.
In 2018, Tambovenergo’s experts discovered non-contracted illegal cable suspensions of fiber optic cables and other types of cables, as well as video surveillance cameras, road signs, and advertising structures at 1,007 electric grid facilities of the company. Persons carrying out unauthorized suspensions violate the legislation of the Russian Federation, put their lives and the lives of others around them at unduly risk, interfere with the operation of the power grid.
“Poles of street lighting and power lines are part of the power grid complex, which performs the function of delivering electricity. To ensure uninterrupted and reliable power supply to consumers, along with the rest of the electrical equipment, the power engineers regularly conduct inspections of overhead lines, service them, paint metal parts to increase corrosion resistance and protect against weather conditions, repair them, if necessary. Suspensions that are inconsistent with the grid company often make it difficult to carry out the work,” commented Deputy General Director of IDGC of Centre - Tambovenergo division director Nikolay Bogomolov.
