Moscow United Electric Grid Company takes counteraction against fire events

A meeting of the emergency response commission was held at “Moscow United Electric Grid Company”, which was devoted to preparation of power grid facilities for the fire-hazard season 2011 for the purpose of securing reliable power supply to consumers under the conditions of forest and peat fires, and thunderheads passage.

The commission has developed a number of decisions aimed at fulfillment of ordinances of the Moscow Region’s Governor related to the fire safety provision for the Moscow area’s citizens and territory.

According to the decisions taken at the meeting, chief engineers of JSC MOESK branches are requested to carry out a set of measures on ensuring the fire safety at power grid facilities. Local subdivisions of the Russian Emergency Ministry, fire engineering services and forestry farms are to participate in making up a list of the required arrangements on laying in the stock of water at the substations with poor water supply; compulsory making control lines around the power facilities location; repair of openings in the permanent barriers between the ground and concrete sections. Besides, the personnel should pay attention to the fact that the backfire use for the fire blocking is not allowed.

In addition, it is prescribed to arrange interaction with law enforcement authorities and carry out primary operational procedures on fire investigation at the places of the most significant power grid facilities location. 

Heads of the Moscow Region municipalities, territorial authorities of the Russian Emergency Ministry, law enforcement authorities, bodies of military administration and military unit control agencies and other principals of business enterprises, on the territory of which the branches’ power grid facilities are located, will be engaged in detailed development of the Joint Operating Plans for territorial and functional units of the regional system aimed at emergency situations prevention; there will be updated zones of predictable forest and peat fires development, a list of power grid facilities located in such zones, a list of human settlements, economic and military infrastructure facilities, where power outages may occur because of the forest and peat fires, also the number of resident population.

Besides, there will be arranged cooperation with contractors, managers of the territorial forestry farms, industrial and factory-farm enterprises possessing heavy machinery; also conditions of the required machinery furnishing and procedure of its providing for performance of the fire-fighting operations on 0,4 - 220 kV power transmission lines and substations in their restricted zones and adjacent territory.

The commission has given directions to qualify plans of actions of the branches’ management personnel, duty dispatching services, standby brigades upon receiving any information about smoke formation, inflammability and fire occurrence in proximity to the power grid facilities and at the facilities themselves. Telephone numbers of the duty services shall be also updated, and public alert and warning training shall be performed.

Special attention is given to the power transmission line sections which are mostly exposed to fires. In hazard periods additional on-site tours along the line routes and other power grid facilities rounds are stipulated by separate plans. Extra engagement of personnel, machinery and communications equipment is planned beforehand. In case of the fire situation aggravation, day-and-night duties of JSC “MOESK” branches’ emergency response teams are arranged.