Tower Parts Theft Suspects Arrested In Leyte

Tower Parts Theft

Suspects Arrested In Leyte

Power grid operator and transmission service provider NGCP reissues its appeal to the public to immediately report theft or pilferage of transmission line materials and tower parts in their own communities.

R.A. 7832 or the “Anti-Electricity and Electric Transmission Lines Materials Pilferage Act of 1994” prohibits the possession, control, or custody of electric power transmission lines materials by any person not engaged in the transmission or distribution of electric power, or in the manufacture of such materials. Violators will face 12 to 20 years of imprisonment and a fine ranging from P50,000 to P100,000.

A few months ago, four suspected thieves of transmission line tower parts were apprehended in Sitio Palanas, Barangay Damula-an, Albuera, Leyte after a security officer of NGCP caught them in the act of carting away conductor wires from a tower in the area and loading these materials into a multicab. The conductor wires weighed 500 kilos and were estimated to be worth PhP15,000.

The suspects, all residents of Sitio Palanas, were promptly turned over to the custody of the Albuera Police Station. They are now facing charges under R.A. 7832.

NGCP is calling for the vigilance and cooperation of the public in reporting illegal incidents to help capture the pilferers.

“It is the ordinary power consumers who suffer from these illegal activities that do nothing but put the grid at risk. With proper information and the cooperation of residents, barangay officials, and the local police, we can reduce pilferage and improve the reliability of the electricity,” NGCP said.

NGCP is a privately owned corporation in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s power grid. It transmits high-voltage electricity through “power superhighways” that include the interconnected system of transmission lines, towers, substations, and related assets. The consortium, which holds the 25-year concession contract to operate the country’s power transmission network, is comprised of Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp. led by Henry Sy, Jr., Calaca High Power Corporation led by Robert Coyiuto, Jr., and the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) as technical partner. /MP