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Transco asks local governments to guard lines
THE NATIONAL TRANSMISSION CORP. has asked local government and village officials to help guard fallen transmission line cables and tower parts in Bicol against looters.
Transco president Arthur Aguilar said one of the state firm's biggest problems was pilferage, as this not only slowed the power restoration process in provinces affected by typhoons, but also made existing steel towers more prone to being toppled or damaged by strong winds.
"To hasten power restoration, we have reinforced our transmission line teams in south Luzon with those from north Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. But we hope that our cables, tower parts, insulators, especially those now lying on the ground, will not be stolen so that power restoration will not suffer undue delays," he said in a statement.
Host communities as well as law enforcement agencies could do their part in the repair by helping protect Transco's facilities from looters.
Aguilar said there were about 2,500 towers between Metro Manila and Bicol, making it difficult for Transco to guard them all.
Abigail L. Ho.
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