MOESK Has Installed the First Warning Lights System at High-Voltage Lines

The Central Electric Grids – the branch of JSC "MOESK" with the participation of the high voltage power lines service of JSC "MOESK", within the framework of the pilot project, installed the first warning lights system at high voltage power line of 220 kV "Ochakovo-Govorovo - 1." The so-called "marking" lamp appeared at the intersection of the Michurinskogo avenue and Moscow Ring Road. This system is designed to reduce the technological disturbances related with the impact of third parties on the electric grid facilities.

The structure consists of a rather volumetric device, 8 meters in length, attached to a wire of the high-voltage line (HVL). Day and night the lamp shines bright red, which is easily noticeable for the human eye. It is no secret that the main cause of technological failures associated with third parties’ impact is the work of contractors in security zones without proper permits.

MOESK and Central Grids in particular are actively working to reduce such violations. Population is regularly informed via the media of the need to get approvals for works. There is close cooperation with the prefectures of Moscow. Staff of the lines service of CEG makes every effort to influence the negligent companies. Recently, inspections of power lines routes have become more frequent (every three months, and then every month instead of every half of a year). Special leaflets are pasted up, which warn of near location of high voltage lines and need to coordinate all the works to be held. In the case of a line break, outside entities are mandatorily write statements to the police and prosecutors. And the offenders are attended by the law enforcement agencies, which impose administrative fines on them.

The results were immediate. Since the beginning of this year, the Central Electric Grids have managed to achieve visible reduction of this kind of technological failures. If within 11 months of the last year, 28 emergency outages of 35-220 kV power lines were registered, the 11 months of the current year showed 19 ones only. Installation of the warning lights system must make the ongoing efforts more effective.

"The cost of one "marker" lamp is RUR 110 thousand. That's without taking into account the cost of installing the warning lights system. However, we implement in practice new measures against violators of security zones. Hoping for human care and responsibility,” the director of the Central Electric Grids Vsevolod Ivanov said. “Our main goal is to reduce the number of technological failures caused by third parties. Because it is us who are responsible for quality, reliability and security of electricity supply to consumers."

If the pilot project of the OL warning lights system proves its effectiveness in practice, the Central Electric Grids will install such “marking” lamps at another several high voltage lines sites in the near future.