At a construction site in Pingzhou, Nanhai.
In today's era, electricity is indispensable. Whether it be for citizens' daily lives or factory production, the role of electricity is crucial. However, acts of destroying power facilities occur from time to time, and the safety of the power grid is facing an increasing number of threats. Savage construction, hydrogen balloons and other floating objects, tall plants, etc., may all become "culprits" that cause sudden blackouts in the power grid.
Currently, traffic engineering projects are highly concentrated in the Foshan area. Ongoing projects mainly include the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Railway, Guiyang-Guangzhou Railway, Guangzhou-Foshan-Zhaoqing Light Rail, Guangzhou-Zhuhai Light Rail, Hong Kong-Shenzhen-Guangzhou Railway, Nanning-Guangzhou Railway, Tai-Ao Expressway, Pearl River Delta Loop Expressway, Foshan-Kaiping Expressway expansion, Guangzhou-Sanzhui Expressway expansion, and 36 municipal road construction projects. According to statistics, there are a total of 151 construction sites listed under "black spot" management within the transmission line protection zones, and these are highly concentrated in the two districts of Nanhai and Shunde.
Taking Shunde as an example, the Transmission Department of Foshan Power Supply Bureau introduced that currently there are many road construction and other projects in this district, such as the rapidization of Foshan-Chenjiang Road, Longle Road, Guangming Expressway, South Ring 2, and many other projects being carried out simultaneously. Some projects need to be completed before the Asian Games or even earlier. The tight schedule and high pressure have led to frequent occurrences of savage construction and illegal construction.
At around 9 p.m. on June 24, power line patrol personnel Shu Yingjun discovered that at the Shunde interchange section of South Ring 2, construction workers were illegally pouring cement within the line protection zone. After discovering the situation, the patrol personnel immediately stopped the construction. Shu Yingjun said: "This kind of illegal construction not only endangers the personal safety of the construction workers but could also cause large-scale blackouts with unimaginable consequences."
"Savage construction causes the most severe damage to power facilities." The power supply department introduced that in just 2009 alone, Foshan's transmission lines experienced 24 cases of external force destruction leading to tripping, among which 18 were caused by illegal construction. Statistics up to May 7 this year showed that transmission lines tripped 10 times, four of which were caused by illegal construction.
Replay of the Incident
Cables Dug Through, Power Outage Lasted 1 Hour
In the scorching summer, it is precisely the time when the power load is tight. On the night of July 5th, Hecheng Street's Hejiang area in Gaoming District suddenly fell into darkness. After an emergency repair of 1 hour by Gaoming Power Supply Bureau, the normal power supply was successfully restored. Upon investigation, it was found that the power outage was due to savage construction of a road project.
The power supply department introduced that at 21:51 on the 5th, Gaoming Power Supply Bureau discovered that the quick-break protection action of switch 702 on Hengwei Line had tripped. The dispatcher attempted to reclose it but was unsuccessful. Subsequently, Gaoming Power Supply Bureau immediately organized emergency repair personnel to quickly rush to the entire fault inspection of the 10kV Hengwei Line at Ren De Station in Hejiang area. It was discovered that the cable segment across Taohua Road had been dug through and damaged by an excavator from a drainage renovation construction unit operating there.
After identifying the fault, the emergency repair team immediately organized manpower and equipment to repair the site, disconnecting the cable branch box switch, isolating the faulty cable, and replacing the isolation switch damaged by short-circuit current impact. After 50 minutes of repairs, following successful insulation monitoring of the line, they notified the dispatch to restore power. By 22:54, the entire 10kV Hengwei Line was restored to full-line power supply.
Gaoming Power Supply Bureau stated that this power outage incident lasted 1.05 hours, causing power outages for 26 medium-voltage users and resulting in the breakage of the incoming cable of a nearby rural credit cooperative. Preliminary investigations revealed that this power outage incident was due to savage construction by the drainage renovation contractor under conditions unsuitable for nighttime operations, compounded by inadequate supervision by municipal engineering supervisors, leading to the digging and destruction of the cable line.
Legal Opinion
Destruction of Power Equipment Could Result in Imprisonment
Lawyers pointed out that according to the "Electricity Law," destruction of electricity that endangers public safety without causing serious consequences can result in imprisonment for three to ten years; Article 110 states that destruction of power and gas equipment causing serious consequences can lead to sentences of more than ten years, life imprisonment, or even death penalty. Negligent commission of the above crime can result in imprisonment for less than seven years or detention.
Simultaneously, according to the "Interpretation of Several Issues Regarding the Specific Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Destruction of Electric Power Facilities by the Supreme People's Court," negligent destruction of electric power facilities causing serious consequences will, according to relevant provisions of the criminal law, sentence the perpetrator to three to seven years of imprisonment for the crime of negligently damaging electric power facilities; if the circumstances are relatively minor, then the sentence will be less than three years of imprisonment or detention. "If the power department files a lawsuit and holds accountable, it means that the destroyer has the possibility of going to jail."
Relevant Provisions of the "Regulations on the Protection of Electric Power Facilities"
Overhead Power Lines Protection Zone
The region formed by two parallel lines extending outward from the conductor boundary generally follows the distances below for different voltage levels:
1-10 kilovolts - 5 meters
35-110 kilovolts - 10 meters
154-330 kilovolts - 15 meters
500 kilovolts - 20 meters
Electric Cable Line Protection Zone
For underground cables, it is the region formed by two parallel lines extending 0.75 meters on each side of the line;
For submarine cables, it is generally the water area formed by two parallel lines extending 2 nautical miles (or 100 meters within ports) on each side of the line; for river cables, it is generally not less than 100 meters (for medium and small rivers, generally not less than 50 meters) on each side of the line.
Editor: Li Xiaoxiao