House approves bill requiring proper maintenance, installation of electric cable wires, posts
The House of Representatives approved on Tuesday, August 13 2024 a bill that seeks the mandatory regulation of the installation and maintenance of electric cable wires and posts for public safety.
Once passed, House Bill (HB) 10512 seeks to mandate local government units to oversee the compliance of every electric distribution, cable, and telecommunication company within their covered area with the standards and regulations provided under the Philippine Electrical Code.
Baguio City Representative Mark Go, primary author of the bill, said that HB 10512 sought to ensure the safety and protection of communities and to implement sound and regular maintenance of utility poles, lines, cables, equipment, and accessories related to electric distribution.
“Low-lying cable wires do not only serve as a massive eyesore in communities; they pose a significant danger to people around them. There have been several accidents, many of them fatal, that have been attributed to these derelict posts, faulty wiring, and dangling cable wires,” Go said.
The bill would also mandate the forming of an inter-agency team composed of local officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), National Telecommunications Company (NTC), National Transmission Corporation
(TransCo), National Electrification Administration (NEA), Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHUSD), and representatives from the LGUs and public utilities to set and implement standard height, volume, and capacity of electric and cable wires, and posts.
Companies found to be in violation of the act would be fined between P250,000 and 500,000 for the first offense, up to P1 million for the second offense, and up to P2 million for third and succeeding offenses. ### (PR)
