The manager of ENERGO-PRO met with mayors and deputy mayors in the municipality of Aksakovo
The reason for the meeting was the outdated electricity distribution network in the area and related problems
Yesterday, September 18, 2013, Mr. Stefan Abadzhiev, manager of ENERGO-PRO Varna EOOD, met with mayors and deputy mayors in the municipality of Aksakovo. The occasion for the meeting, organized by ENERGO-PRO, was a letter from the representatives of the local government, in which they expressed their concerns in connection with short-term power outages in the area of part of the municipality of Aksakovo, Varna region - the villages of Izvorsko, Zornitsa, L. Karavelovo, Voditsa, Zasmyano, Krumovo, Radevo, Botevo, Novakovo, Yarebichna, Charbon and Dobrogled.
At the meeting, mayors and deputy mayors shared problems related to electricity supply in the area and discussed measures to eliminate them.
“From ENERGO-PRO we decided to invite the mayors to a personal meeting so that I could hear their signals in direct contact and present them the real situation we are in. The settlements in the area are powered by two medium-voltage power lines - “Krumovo” and “Novakovo”. In recent years, the company has carried out major repairs on both facilities with a total value of 60,000 leva, replacing problematic equipment — poles, wires, insulators. There are still sections that are depreciated and need rehabilitation and replacement of facilities on them. A serious rehabilitation is associated with additional funds to be invested in the electricity distribution network in the area, because it is known that in order to maintain a system and improve its quality, it must be constantly invested in it. In the last 5 years, the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (SVEC) has been constantly reducing our investment programs in order to reach this year, when we have 0 BGN investments planned for us,” said Mr. Abadzhiev.
ENERGO-PRO maintains a network management system that registers any interruption on the power lines owned by the company. The situation related to the state of the facilities in the area is known to the specialists of the company. It has been discussed over the years with the local government and the residents of the municipality of Aksakovo in relation to its cyclicity and its seasonal nature. Analyses carried out by the company show that there are numerous reasons for the increased number of outages. One of them is the atmospheric conditions that affect the operation of a certain type of air facilities, which prevailed in the area and were massively built in the 60s and 70s of the twentieth century. Another reason for frequent shutdowns is the fields with crops located near the power lines, large grain bases and flocks of birds gathering around them. Unfortunately, at the contact of the birds landing on the wires with the network, short circuits are triggered, to which the automation reacts with short-term interruptions. Setting the sensitivity of equipment automation meets all technical norms and requirements, and therefore in this case we are not talking about an emergency situation, but about a standard operating mode of the network. Indicative of this is the fact that most of the breaks are during the summer period, and especially when the harvest lasts. During it, due to the high activity of birds, the wires are literally bent under their weight, and power outages are especially frequent in the early morning, noon and dusk hours.
Unfortunately, after the last price decision of DCEFR for the current regulatory period, the operating costs for the company have been reduced and not enough funds for investments have been provided. However, the manager of ENERGO-PRO made a commitment that the company will take quick measures to stabilize the operation of the two medium-voltage power lines. This includes conducting an emergency inspection of air facilities in the area and identifying weak points on them. As a result of the inspections, immediate actions will be taken to heal the detected problem areas. In addition, due to the often observed situation of deterioration of the quality of power supply, as a result of the poor condition of facilities owned by third parties, the company will also carry out inspections of these facilities in the area and give the necessary prescriptions to their owners to eliminate the defects found.
“I can make a commitment to the representatives of the local government in the municipality of Aksakovo that we will immediately respond to their signal. We will once again make a detailed internal analysis of the situation, which will be ready within three weeks, although the problem has been repeatedly studied and our specialists have a built opinion about its causes. I guarantee that we will take all possible actions that depend on us to improve the situation. We are already taking technical measures to locate the problem areas more accurately,” said Mr. Abadjiev. “The problem of birds and weathering could be completely solved by replacing the network in the area with an underground or more modern aerial one. This is a large-scale project and a multi-million dollar investment. Unfortunately, practice shows that such investment projects are possible in times of economic growth, when society is able to allocate the necessary significant funds to improve the infrastructure”, concluded the manager of ENERGO-PRO.
