Prevent disaster

Compliance with the rules for the use of power transmission line protection zones is not only a requirement for the technical operation of power facilities, it is a necessity for preserving the life and health of people.

To paraphrase a well-known proverb, the situation can be described as follows: until the thunder strikes, a person does not heed the danger. But according to power engineers, the thunder had already struck at the end of September last year, when the danger of damaging people with electricity of 110,000 V (!) was real.

On September 27, 2018, the feeds of leading news agencies, electronic and print media were full of headlines about a large-scale power outage in the Ramensky district of the Moscow region. At the height of the working day, almost 62 thousand people, over 70 socially significant objects were left without power, 178 transformer substations were de-energized! The disconnected power amounted to 26.46 MW.

Cause? – fallen on the wires of the 110 kV high-voltage line “Donino – Tsagi 1, 2 with outlet.” tree – 30-meter pine, located on private territory. The top of the tree was burning in contact with the wire. I would like to explain to ordinary people what this meant: being exposed to high voltage, which in the event of rain or simply damp wood could spread along the ground within a radius of 20 m, and when touching metal objects, for example, a fence, along it for hundreds of meters. The presence of a person in this territory results in severe electrical injury, most often resulting in death. This time we were lucky, the trouble passed us by. But none of the residents of nearby houses were frightened by the situation, no one crossed themselves and no conclusions were drawn about the need to clear the power line protection zone from trees.

The scary thing is that in the event of an electric shock, mortal danger strikes with lightning speed: invisible, inaudible, odorless. It is impossible to escape from it, it cannot be stopped. This is the moment between life and death. This is not the case when, having experienced, one can draw a conclusion for the future, it may not exist... the future. For some reason, in their homes, people take the necessary precautions, teach their children to be careful with electricity, but when they go outside, they don’t notice the obvious: high-voltage lines above their property, tree branches touching the wires, playgrounds under power lines.

Power engineers, due to their professional duties, are forced to take the necessary measures for safety: to bring the security zones of power lines to a standard state in accordance with the Rules set out in the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 160 of 2009. For this, there are all permits and approvals. But residents and owners of private plots must also provide access for felling work. And this is where energy workers encounter misunderstanding and opposition.

In this case, the actions of the owners of land plots contradict Article 209 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, according to which the ownership, use, and disposal of land and other natural resources is carried out by their owners freely, if this does not cause damage to the environment and does not violate the rights and legitimate interests of other persons.

The reason for this position of the local population is clear: it is a pity to cut down trees that have been adjacent to the power facility for 56 years and, for your information, have grown during this time above the high-voltage line. In this situation, habit and safety are put on the scales. Energy workers are for safety, but, understanding the problems, they are ready to do everything in their power to compensate for the removal of trees. At one of the meetings with residents, representatives of the electric grid company came up with an initiative to organize compensatory tree planting in Ramenskoye and Zhukovsky at the expense of the energy company. Moreover, residents were asked to choose the tree species themselves, their number and exact planting location, and, through the initiative group, coordinate their choice with the administration. The main and only condition of power engineers when choosing points for planting is that green spaces do not fall into the protection zone of power lines.
City administration Zhukovsky fully complied with these agreements. Taking into account the wishes of residents, about 800 trees were planted on nine sites in different parts of Zhukovsky on May 11, 2019: linden, apple trees, cherries, thujas, maples, willows, and cotoneaster. Their purchase and delivery were undertaken by energy workers.

Until now, Kratovo residents have not received any applications or wishes regarding the species and number of trees for the compensation campaign. But the agreements are in force: as soon as such information is received by the company, power engineers are ready to carry out compensatory plantings in the near future (September is the most favorable time for planting seedlings of any species) and the weather conditions are appropriate for planting trees.

Energy workers emphasize that cutting down trees in the power transmission line protection zone is a justified necessity and a safety measure for the residents themselves. In addition, it is necessary to maintain energy facilities in standard condition, to enable their timely and prompt maintenance and repair, to eliminate the risk of disruption of power supply to consumers caused by falling trees in unfavorable weather conditions and during fire hazardous periods, i.e. in general, it is the most important measure to improve the reliability of power supply to consumers in the Moscow region.