MRSK Tsentra : Belgorodenergo urges to monitor the safe placement of playgrounds

Despite the bans, Belgorod residents continue to build houses under wires of power lines, store soil and building materials and even organize playgrounds without thinking that they endanger people's lives. Last year, IDGC of Centre - Belgorodenergo division liquidated 425 facts in the region of violation of the security zones of power lines, but new cases immediately come to replace the old ones.

The Verkhne-Donskoye Department of Rostekhnadzor for the Belgorod region and the Prosecutor's Office in 2016 were given materials on 68 outrageous facts, 18 more cases are under consideration in courts, six have already received positive conclusions. In other cases, violators themselves or with the help of power engineers removed fences, landfills and buildings, without bringing the matter to court - for refusal, according to Art. 222 and 304 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the culprit is subject to administrative liability.

More often there is land squatting with fencing of lines and substations, construction of buildings and outbuildings in the immediate vicinity of high voltage facilities, storage of soil and materials with violation of the dimensions of overhead lines. Each such fact in an unfavourable confluence of circumstances can lead to an accident.

Especially disturbing is the unauthorized placement in the security zones of children's and sports grounds. In this case, the timing of removal of gaming and sports equipment is of great importance. A notice of dismantling is immediately sent to the contractor's organization. However, despite the checks and notices, children's and sports grounds have been recently built in Belgorod, in the courtyards of residential buildings, directly on high-voltage cable lines. According to the Rules for Establishment of Security Zones approved by Resolution No. 160 of the Government of the Russian Federation from 24 February 2009, they must be immediately dismantled as posing a threat to the life and health of children and adults. Not having achieved the voluntary removal of children's playgrounds and sports equipment, Belgorodenergo is compelled to apply to the court.

'We do not doubt the success of the lawsuit,' comments on the situation Vasily Osetrov, a leading legal adviser of IDGC of Centre - Belgorodenergo division, 'it's bad that the violators themselves, who often are serious organizations, do not realize that their actions are contrary to the law. During the improvement of courtyard premises they 'forget' about underground communications. Meanwhile, in accordance with the Land Code of the Russian Federation (Article 89) and the requirements of the RF Government Resolution No. 160 from 24 February 2009, a technological (green) zone with special conditions of use should be allocated over underground communications. This allows power engineers to properly operate electrical grids, providing residential areas with reliable power supply. Despite the fact that it is problematic to allocate security zones in the regional centre in connection with the density of construction, it is necessary to do this.'

It is even more dangerous if children's playgrounds are located directly under wires of overhead lines. Several such grounds were recorded at once in Stary Oskol - along the streets of Stadionnaya (No. 9), Civic (No. 9), Pesochnaya (No. 38-40), Ordzhonikidze (No. 1), in the crossroads of Magnitnaya and Sholokhov streets. On 20 January this year, the special interdepartmental commission of the administration of the Starooskolsky urban district agreed with the arguments of the power engineers, and now children's swings, carousels, benches, playgrounds and slides will be removed from the security zone of the overhead line, and the grounds themselves are fenced for greater safety. For now, we want to address parents: watch where your children play!

We remind you that within security zones of underground cable power lines, legal entities and individuals are not allowed to carry out soil planning and excavation without the written consent of the grid company (Article 10, item 'zh' of the RF Government Resolution No. 160 from 24 February 2009). If a cable is found that is not listed in the technical documentation, it is necessary to immediately stop the work, take measures to ensure its safety and within 24 hours inform the grid company or the executive authority exercising federal state energy supervision (Article 15 of the RF Government Resolution No. 160 from 24 February 2009).

It is necessary to know: the minimum permissible distance from electrical grids to buildings and structures should be from 2 to 20 metres, depending on the voltage level and the line itself. According to the RF Government Resolution No. 160 from 24 February 2009, 'in security zones it is prohibited to carry out any actions that may disrupt the normal operation of power grid facilities, including cause damage or destruction, and cause harm to life, health of citizens and property of physical and legal persons, as well as entail environmental damage, occurrence of fires.' Before the start of construction of any facility, it is necessary to coordinate the work with IDGC of Centre - Belgorodenergo division.