I don't know much about maintaining electrical grids but why is it in most countries around the world they maintain the infrastructure without turning off the power?
Excellent question mate: Answer is, what I always get when asking difficult questions: " this is the Philippines" ............
Well I for one would not want to get anywhere near the very suspect cable situation while the power is on! I am not too sure of the number but there have bee more than the fair share of Employee deaths over the last 2/3 years. Mostly cable Gang Members.
What do they expect but deaths and accidents when we look at the wiring here, just like string after string of badly mixed spaghetti ?:( I saw a couple of those guys working on power lines recently, and their ladder was resting on the power lines, yes you heard correctly, on the power lines and not the pole or another solid structure, and the ladder was facing the roadway not away from it, and the power lines were really sagging under the weight,I can tell you I took a VERY wide birth, after I realised I was not dreaming.
We had a short here a few hrs ago, the main wire caught fire so we put out with estinguisher. After finding the correct cell no to ring they turned up with bamboo ladder, roll of black tape, pair of pliers and a clamp. After they finished the repair I asked when they come back to fix properly and more permanent and all I got was the blank look. And an answer but sir it's been fixed!
NORECO II still doesn't have hotline/live wire maintenance capabilities yet, although it is in their pipeline... the cost of tools and equipment needed are a bit prohibitive, and electric cooperatives are highly regulated entities and are not able to easily make capital outlays. They have to seek permission from government regulators as these cost are passed on to the consumers.
