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Beware Poor Power Cables, Rickety Poles!

By Chuks Nwanne
26 July 2015   |   4:10 am
HAPPENINGS around town often compel one to think poverty is archenemy to common sense, else how would anyone explain people living under electricity poles, including high-tension lines?
Faulty cables...Disaster waiting to happen  (also below)                                       PHOTOS: CHUKS NWANNE

Faulty cables…Disaster waiting to happen (also below) PHOTOS: CHUKS NWANNE

cable-1xx-CopyHAPPENINGS around town often compel one to think poverty is archenemy to common sense, else how would anyone explain people living under electricity poles, including high-tension lines?

The rate at which people build houses under power lines, unchallenged, makes it look like we live in a lawless society. Sometimes, one wonders what exactly the role of town planning authorities is. The population of Lagos keeps growing daily, leading to congestion. As a result, no open space is sacred. In some places, petty traders and artisans operate near electricity transformers in the name of working to survive.

But besides the fact that some of these transformers are usually overloaded, leading to periodic explosions, many of the power cables are old and worn. Sometimes, they are not well insulated. Worse still, they hang on rickety wooden poles. With the rainy season at its peak, your guess is as good as mine.

Electricity supply seems to have improved in recent times; meaning transformers and cables are active for the better part of the day. This, coupled with the rainy season, has exposed the poor state of electrical facilities in the country.

Where transformers are not blowing up because of overload, then it would be old wooden poles falling, as a result of wind or rain. And in some cases, they are downed by human error. Knowing how reckless some Lagos drivers are, there would be little surprise at news that a danfo driver rammed into an electricity pole, and caused damage. You might have seen container-laden trailers struggling to pass beneath low-lying electric wires on streets. As careful as the truck boys might seem with their bamboo sticks, mistakes in the process of pushing up those naked cables could spell disaster.

Insulating materials are used to protect electrical conductors from leaking out current. Material like PVC, glass, asbestos, rigid laminate, varnish, resin, paper, Teflon, and rubber are good insulators. These are also used as protective coating on electrical wires and cables. In many cases, the insulators on our lines are either weak or poorly maintained. In some cases, they are non-existent, exposing residents to danger.

“Even with all the campaigns and sensitizations we’ve done, a lot of people still don’t understand the danger of living or trading under electricity poles. When you try to move them by force, they become sentimental. Human beings are difficult to handle. We had an incident, recently, in the Sanya area of Surulere, Lagos, where a woman was electrocuted. Her shop had been directly under the cables. We will continue to do our best, but people should be safety conscious,” said a customer care staff of the Eko Electric Distribution Company (EEDC).

Electricity is dangerous, and can cause serious injuries or even death. Experts say people who stay under or around transmission lines are susceptible to having cancer. Doubtless, it is hazardous to live or hang around a facility that transmits 132KVA/330KVA. Besides, medical experts have identified electricity as a major source of radiation.

Some time ago, the World Health Organisation (WHO) listed dangers associated with living under high-tension wires. Yet, many poor Nigerians keep living under these, due to exorbitant house rents, especially in the urban areas.

The study, which focused on the potential health effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on humans revealed, “Everyone is exposed to a complex mix of weak electric and magnetic fields, both at home and at work, from the generation and transmission of electricity, domestic appliances, telecommunications and broadcasting equipment. EMFs are possible causes of headache, fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, rashes, muscular pain and burning skin.”

In Lagos, many young men in places like Ijesha, Mushin, Ejigbo and others, are potential electricians, tampering with power facilities at will. With transformer feeder pillars lacking proper fuses, many households now own wooden sticks, which they use to force copper wires back into position when power becomes unavailable on a particular supply phase. In areas such as Coker Village, Surulere, Lagos, it is common to see young men, and even women, using long sticks to fumble with cables in search of live lines.

“Before, we had three phases. This meant we could change to two others when one phase is blank. But ‘NEPA’ forced everybody to use just one. When a phase is without power and you report to them, it takes a long time before they come. Some of them would even demand money for the work. So, we decided not to clamp our lines tightly on the pole. That way, we can easily remove and hang them on the next available lines. We know it is dangerous, but we don’t have a choice,” said Ashafa, a resident of Coker.

But a senior staff of EEDC (Mushin District), who spoke under anonymity, said the company has provided emergency telephone lines, so that customers can contact its complaints department whenever there are issues.

“The truth is that most times, Nigerians don’t take things seriously. We’ve made numbers available for customers to contact us when there are issues, but most of them hardly call these numbers. Without them informing us, there’s no way we can know when there’s an emergency. Any time we get such emergency calls, we don’t waste time because we know it’s a matter between life and death,” she said.

On allegation that officials demand gratification before restoring power, she said, “we’ve made it clear that maintenance is our responsibility, so, we don’t expect our staff to ask for money; it is against our rules.”

Fires caused by leakage of current in wooden poles are a major problem for power distribution companies. Leakage happens when current leaks through the insulator, due to deposits of salt spray, sand or chemical on the insulator surface, under extended dry weather conditions with light rain and high humidity.

Excessive leakage, according to experts, generates enough heat to ignite ageing wooden structures, particularly where there is contact between the wooden and metal surfaces of the pole. And because decay and termites cause poles to lose their strength, maintenance should be prioritized.

“It is part of what we inherited from the former managers, but we are making efforts to salvage the situation. Already, we have decided that any wooden pole that has fault must be replaced with a concrete one; that’s the practice right now. As time goes on, we will phase these wooden poles out. As for the cables, our men are constantly working to ensure we don’t have a situation where customers are exposed to danger. Basically, we need the cooperation of the public; they need to make use of the emergency numbers. That way, they will help us improve response time, ” the official said.

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