living adjacent to a transmission line

8/8/2019 Living Adjacent to a Transmission Line

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Living adjacentto a transmission line


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Fingrid in briefElectricity is an inseparable part o the everyday lieo all those living in Finland. Lie would be much morecomplicated without electricity.

In Finland, Fingrid is the enterprise which takes care othe unctioning o the nation-wide grid, the backboneo electricity transmission.

The nation-wide grid is the main network or electricitytransmission, to which the major power plants, industrialplants and regional distribution networks are connected.The transmission grid managed by Fingrid encompassesapprox. 14,000 kilometres o 400, 220 and 110 kilovolttransmission lines and more than 100 substations.

Fingrid makes sure that the electricity supply inFinland continues to work without problems also in theuture. In the coming years, almost 3,000 kilometreso new transmission lines and about 30 substations will

be built in Finland. In this way, Fingrid is contributing tothe development o the Finnish society and the welare oall those living in Finland.

Fingrids work is based on the Electricity Market Act. It isFingrids duty to promote the unctioning o theelectricity market by maintaining a secure transmissionsystem and to ensure reliable transmission connections

between Finland and other countries.

Contents

3 Fingrid in brief

4 Lets stay on good terms Fingrid has a right to usethe line areas Compensation paid to landowners or

the use o the line area Robust but useul neighbour7 Taking care of the lines Transmission line inspections

constitute the basis or maintenance Regular manage-

ment o trees guarantees reliability Compensations or

the use o private roads

9 What you need to know before you do anythingFelling o trees and storage o timber Sae use o

machinery Sae cultivation and pasturage Do not

spray water on the transmission line Make sure that

row covers stay in place Grounding o ences and tin

roos Making an open re is prohibited Fingrid

provides intructions or blasting work Do not reuel

machinery near a transmission line Climbing in towers

poses a danger to lie Keep a shing rod ar away

rom a line Do not fy a kite in a right-o-way

Trampolines and climbing rames Inorm Fingrid o

a line ault

12 Many ways to utilise the t ransmission line area Recreational uses Hunting Establishing a road or

outdoor route Use o snowmobiles Buildings and

structures Soil extraction and disposal, ditching

13 Good to know15 Projects near transmission line requiring permit

400 kV grid

220 kV grid

110 kV grid

lines o other companies

Fingrid Oyjspower transmission grid1 January 2010

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Right of way

Transmission line area

Building prohibition zone

The width of an 110 kV right of way is generally 2630 m.The width of a 220 kV right of way is generally 3238 m.The width of a 400 kV right of way is generally 3642 m.

The width of the border zone is 10 metres on both sides of the line, always a total of 20 metres.

Border zoneBorder zone

The tower type shown in the picture is the most

commonly used guyed portal tower, but so-called sel-

supporting steel towers without guys are also used.

10 m

20 m20 m

10 m

Overhead earth wire

Earth wire peak

Crossarm

Insulator stringInsulator unit

Phase conductor

Horizontal brace

Leg

Guy

Number plate

Foundation

Ground electrode

Guy anchor

UNDERGROUNDS

TRUCTURES

Lets stay on good termsAn electricity transmission line is a neighbour

which does not wish to disturb others or be dis-turbed. This brochure contains inormation andsaety instructions, which make living adjacent toa transmission line sae and trouble-ree.

FINGRID HAS A RIGHT TO USE THE LINE AREAS

Fingrid does not own the land areas under thetransmission lines or the trees located withinthese areas. These are property o the landowner.Through expropriation, Fingrid has acquired apermanent right to use the transmission line area.This gives the company a right to or example usethe transmission line area, restrict building in thearea, clear vegetation in the area, and manageexcessively tall trees in the border zone.

The companys right and obligation to give theinstructions presented in this brochure is basedon the Electrical Saety Act and on the expropria-tion o the transmission line area on the basis o apermit given by the Council o State.

COMPENSATION PAID TO LANDOWNERS

FOR THE USE OF THE LINE AREA

A lump-sum compensation determined in theexpropriation proceedings is paid or the right ouse o the transmission line area. Fingrid does notdecide on the expropriation compensations, butthese are specied by an impartial expropriationcommittee in accordance with the act concerningexpropriation.

I a landowner suers disadvantage or damage inconjunction with the maintenance o the trans-mission line, these cases are agreed upon with thelandowner individually in each case.

ROBUST BUT USEFUL NEIGHBOUR

The transmission line area is the area or whichFingrid has expropriated a right o use. The right ouse imposes usage restrictions on the landowner.

The voltage levels o transmission lines in Finlandare 110, 220 and 400 kilovolts (kV)*. The voltagelevel can be recognised by the length o the insu-lator string and the number o insulator discs:

Voltage levelkV

Length ofinsulator string

Number ofinsulator discs

110 approx. 1 metre 68

220 approx. 2 metres 1012

400 approx. 4 metres 1821

*1 kV = 1,000 volts (V)

A single-legged steel lattice

tower without guys.

The tower area o

a transmission line

tower extends over a

distance o

3 metres rom the

overground tower

structures.

A guyed two-legged portal tower.

3m

3m

3m

3m

CEN

TRELINEOFTR

ANSMISSIONLINE

3m

3m

3m

3mCEN

TRELIN

EOFTRA

NSMISSIO

NLINE

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Taking care of the linesTRANSMISSION LINE INSPECTIONS CONSTITUTE

THE BASIS FOR MAINTENANCE

As the owner o the transmission line, Fingrid hasan obligation to maintain the line in the conditionprescribed by electric saety regulations. In orderto ull this obligation, the companys employees

and service providers have the right to move inthe transmission line area on oot and by usingmachinery and vehicles, to use roads and pathsleading to the transmission line area and to useother areas, i necessary. The condition o thetransmission line and the height o vegetation inthe transmission line area are monitored with thehelp o inspections carried out at intervals o 1 to3 years.

The inspections are used or observing issues such as:

- vegetation in the transmission line area, newstructures, excavations

- potential inclination o tower structures, condi-tion o steel parts

- grounding and oundations

- condition o insulators and conductors.

In the winter, snow accumulating on the conduc-tors is removed whenever necessary.

REGULAR MANAGEMENT OF TREES

GUARANTEES RELIABILITY

Trees in the right-o-way are cleared mechanicallyor manually every 5 to 8 years.

Trees in the border zones o transmission lines aremanaged at intervals o 10 to 25 years. Excessivelytall trees are elled or their tops are cut by 2 to 4metres by means o a helicopter. Trees top-ended

with helicopter sawing do not need to be har-vested right away. Decay in a tree with a cut topprogresses so slowly that decay damage does notreduce the value o timber i its elling is com-

bined with the logging o some adjacent orestarea in the coming years. It is also worthwhile log-ging border zone trees, whose tops have not beencut, at the same time.

Fingrid inorms landowners by letter o the clear-ing o rights-o-ways and management o trees inthe border zones.

I there is a need to ell the trees in the borderzone, Fingrid endeavours to arrange joint ellingand sales o the timber. However, as the owner othe trees, the landowner has a right to decide howto arrange the harvesting and sales o border zone

trees, which need to be elled because o transmis-sion line maintenance. In any case, it is importantto remember that logging close to a transmissionline requires special proessional skills, and land-owners should not do this on their own.

I most o the trees in the border zone are too tall,it is usually most sensible to use total manage-ment o the border zone so that all other treesexcept those that are considerably shorter than thetrees shown in the diagram on page 5 are elled inthe border zone.

Forest management or the border zones o trans-mission line areas involves many special eatures,

which should be taken into account when decid-ing on the orest regeneration and managementmeasures. In order to enhance orest manage-ment in these special areas, Forestry DevelopmentCentre Tapio has drawn up orest managementrecommendations or border zones. These recom-mendations are presented in a orest managementcard, which can be downloaded (in Finnish) rom

Fingrids website.

COMPENSATIONS FOR THE USE OF PRIVATE ROADS

Fingrid signs 10-year maintenance road agree-ments with road owners on the use o privateroads leading to the transmission line areas.

Fingrid, the Central Union o Agricultural Pro-ducers and Forest Owners (MTK) and the Central

Union o Swedish-Speaking Agricultural Producersin Finland (SLC) have drawn up a compensationrecommendation concerning the use o privateroads. Among other things, the recommendationspecies the unit prices o road usage ees or

various usage categories.

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FELLING OF TREES AND STORAGE OF TIMBER

Near a transmission line, the trees must notbe cut towards the line. Always veriy thecorrect elling direction in accordance withthe saety instructions or timber harvesting

work. I necessary, Fingrid will provide urther

inormation and elling assistance.

For saety reasons, timber or energy woodmust not be stored under a transmission lineor nearer than 10 metres rom the closestphase conductor o the line in the horizontaldirection.

SAFE USE OF MACHINERY

Ordinary agricultural machinery can be operatedunder a transmission line. Caution must be exer-cised when operating agricultural machinery nearthe tower structures. I, however, tower structuresare damaged, inorm Fingrid immediately.

I you are using an excavator, crane or othermachinery near a transmission line, make surethat you do not end up too close to the live phaseconductors. No machinery must be brought intothe tower area.

The table below presents the permitted minimumdistances o machinery with potential load romthe phase conductors o a transmission line.

IF THE LOADER OR LOAD TOUCHES THE CONDUC-

TORS WHILE USING MACHINERY, PROCEED AS

FOLLOWS:

You are initially safe inside the cabin.

Try to run the machine off the transmission line.

If the machine catches re or if its tyresstart to smoke, jump out of the machineso that both of your feet touch the groundsimultaneously.

Do not touch the machine and ground

simultaneously.

Bound so that only one foot touches theground at a time and proceed to a distanceof at least 20 metres from the machine asfast as possible.

Contact Fingrid immediately even if thetransmission line is not visibly damaged.

Make sure that nobody can access the area.

Voltage

level oftransmission

line

Minimum distance

to machineryor load beneath

phase conductors

Minimum distance

to machinery or loadfrom phase

conductors inhorizontal direction

110 kV 3 metres 5 metres



IF A TREE BEGINS TO FALL TOWARDS A TRANS-

MISSION LINE DESPITE PRECAUTIONS, FOLLOW

THESE INSTRUCTIONS:

Interrupt your work immediately. Bound so that only one foot touches theground at a time a nd proceed to a distanceof at least 20 metres from the tree asquickly as possible.

If a falling tree hits the line or gets caughtin the conductors, notify Fingrids NetworkControl Centre (tel. 030 395 4300) of this

immediately or call the nation-wide emer-gency number 112.

Make sure that nobody goes close to thesuspended tree.

DO NOT TRY TO LOOSEN A TREE WHICH TOUCHES

PHASE CONDUCTORS BEFORE:

the line has been de-energised,

the line has been provided with workgrounding, and

you obtain permission from the owner ofthe line to loosen the tree.

5 metres

110 kV 3 metres

220 kV 4 metres

400 kV 5 metres

What you need to know before you do anything

Trees located close to a transmission lineshould always be felled by professionals.

Never drive machinery between the tower legs,under a guy wire, or closer than 3 metres fromthe tower structures!

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SAFE CULTIVATION AND PASTURAGE

A right-o-way can be used or cultivation, anddomestic animals can graze saely in the area. Itcan also be used as a vegetable garden, and orexample berry bushes can be planted there. Whenplanting bushes, leave a passage in the centre lineo the transmission line so that line inspectors andmaintenance personnel can either walk or movetheir machinery rom one tower to another. Fruittrees and Christmas trees can be cultivated in aright-o-way just as long as their height remains

within the permitted limits. Growing o trees mustbe agreed upon with Fingrid through a growth

clearance area contract.

DO NOT SPRAY WATER ON THE TRANSMISSION LINE

Articial irrigation systems can be used in thenormal way in the vicinity o a transmission line

just as long as the water jet does not hit theline. When setting up, moving and dismantlingirrigation systems, make sure that the irrigationequipment does not come dangerously close tothe phase conductors.

MAKE SURE THAT ROW COVERS STAY IN PLACE

I a planted area is covered with protective rowcovers, use weights or other asteners to makesure that the covers will stay in place also whenthere is a gusty and strong wind. Warming o airunder the cover causes a buoyant eect, whichmay loosen the cover and send it fying high intothe air. I, despite precautions, covers fy onto thetransmission line structures, never try to removethem yoursel. Fingrid must be notied according-ly without delay.

GROUNDING OF FENCES AND TIN ROOFS

No signicant voltages are usually created in abarbed wire ence or a metal wire net ence bythe electric eld o a transmission line. These are

well grounded through ence poles, grass or othervegetation. I the ence runs or a long distanceclose to the transmission line or i the ence isisolated rom the ground, a harmul voltage may,however, be created in the ence. In this case, theence must be grounded.

The electric eld o the transmission line may also re-sult in a charging voltage, which is harmless in itsel,

being charged in tin roos located under the line.This can also be removed easily by grounding theroo to the ground or instance through gutter pipes.

More detailed advice or grounding matters isavailable rom Fingrid.

MAKING OF OPEN FIRE IS PROHIBITED

For saety reasons, it is orbidden to make an openre under a transmission line or in its immediate

vicinity. I you intend to burn grass within a distanceo less than 50 metres rom the line, contact Fingrid.

FINGRID PROVIDES INSTRUCTIONS FOR BLASTING WORKI you are going to quarry rock or carry out blas-ting work within a distance o less than 100 met-res rom the line, ask or instructions rom Fingrid.

DO NOT REFUEL MACHINERY NEAR A TRANSMISSION LINE

For the sake o re saety, avoid reuelling avehicle or other machinery within less than 20metres rom a transmission line.

CLIMBING IN TOWERS POSES A DANGER TO LIFE

It is very dangerous and absolutely orbidden toclimb in transmission line towers. It is also orbid-den to attach anything to the towers.

KEEP A FISHING ROD FAR AWAY FROM A LINE

I you are shing, make sure that neither the rodor the line can reach closer than 5 metres rom thephase conductors o the transmission line.

DO NOT FLY A KITE IN A RIGHT-OF-WAY

For saety reasons, fying a kite is not allowed inthe right-o-way o a transmission line.

TRAMPOLINES AND CLIMBING FRAMES

Because o personal saety, it is orbidden to placetrampolines, climbing rames and other devices,

which can bring persons higher than the normal

ground surace, under a transmission line.

INFORM FINGRID OF A LINE FAULT

Thanks to regular inspections and maintenance,line aults are rare, but they cannot be avoidedcompletely. I you notice a deect or an abnormalphenomenon in a line, please notiy Fingrids

Network Control Centre (tel. 030 395 4300) o thisas soon as possible.

Remember that the fuse never blows in a high-voltage transmission line; it is always dangerous!

If the phase conductor of a transmission lineis broken or otherwise hanging close to theground, it is highly dangerous to go near theconductor!

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Many ways to utilisethe transmission line areaIn addition to cultivation and grazing, rights-o-

ways can be utilised in many ways.

RECREATIONAL USES

A transmission line area is suited or many typeso recreational uses. You can hike and pick berriesand mushrooms in a transmission line area. Trans-mission lines also constitute habitats avoured by

butterfies and many plant species.

HUNTING

Good visibility renders transmission line areas sui-ted or hunting. For saety reasons, the shootingplaces must be located so that the line structuresare not in the line o re. The erection o hunting

towers should be agreed upon in advance withFingrid. Game elds can be established on oldelds located in rights-o-ways. A permit or clea-ring new elds should be requested rom Fingrid.

ESTABLISHING A ROAD OR OUTDOOR ROUTE

You can jog and ski in a transmission line area. Apermit rom the landowner and a statement rom

Fingrid are required or the building o a road,outdoor recreation route, jogging track or skiingtrack in a transmission line area.

USE OF SNOWMOBILES

With the landowners and Fingrids permit, atransmission line area can be used or snowmobile

riding. Snowmobile riding is, however, strictly or-bidden in tower areas. A snowmobile route mustbe placed so ar rom the towers that there is norisk o collision with the tower legs or guys.

BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES

It is orbidden to construct a building in atransmission line area. I you want to build otherstructures such as shelters, roads, parking areas,overhead lines, underground cables, water pipes,sewers, lighting posts, fag poles, sh basins etc.,a permit must be acquired rom Fingrid or thelocation and building o these.

Long lighting lines and other lines laid over theground under a transmission line may also causea hazard. A permit is also needed i you wish tomake changes to a structure built earlier in thetransmission line area.

SOIL EXTRACTION AND DISPOSAL, DITCHINGA permit rom Fingrid is required or the extrac-tion o gravel, sand, clay, earth and peat in theright-o-way. The same applies to ditching andsoil heaps being dumped in a transmission linearea.

It is prohibited to dig ditches in a tower area.The sides o a ditch must never be closer thanthree metres rom the tower and guy structures.I the depth o a ditch to be dug is more thanhal a metre, the underground grounding electro-des must be taken into account. Fingrid must

be inormed immediately o broken groundingelectrodes.

Good to knowScientic research has not ound that transmis-sion lines would have adverse eects on the healthor ertility o pasturing animals. It has not beenestablished that the licking o wooden towers

which have been treated with creosote would havenegative eects on animals. A statement on this

issue has been submitted, among others, by theDepartment o Food and Environmental Hygieneo the University o Veterinary Medicine in Finlandon 25 October 1994.

Power line bird markers can be used on theconductors near the routes o migratory birds orin locations where birds nest to warn birds o theline. It is advisable to inorm Fingrid, which deci-des on the placing o power line bird markers, olocations where birds collide with a line.

There has been extensive research on the po-tential health impacts o the electric and magneticelds created around transmission lines. Based onresearch ndings, these elds do not cause a riskto people or animals. Publications on this topic in

Finnish can be downloaded rom Fingrids website.

According to the Finnish Meteorological Insti-

tute, transmission lines do not increase lightningnor direct the movements o thunder clouds, butthe lines actually increase lightning saety. Sincethe transmission line towers are usually higherthan their immediate environment and sincethey are also grounded, they attract strokes olightning which would strike in any case in theadjacent area.

The line is constructed so that a stroke o light-ning is guided through the overhead ground wireinto the ground in a harmless manner. In other

words, it is not advisable to stay in the immediatevicinity o a transmission line during thunder-storm.

Transmission lines cannot infuence the number ostrokes o lightning, either. Their number depends

entirely on the properties o the thunder cloud,not on the underlying towers.

The buzzing sound heard near a transmission

line is caused by corona discharge occurring onthe surace o the conductors or insulators. Thecorona phenomenon is harmless to people. Thephenomenon is caused by the ionisation o airnear the surace o conductors, insulators andother similar components. The sound caused bycorona is loudest in moist weather or in the winter

when hoar rost accumulates on the conductors. Itis practically almost impossible to prevent coronadischarge completely, but since the sound is al-

ways an indication o energy losses, the goal is toreduce this phenomenon. Corona occurs mainly atthe 400 kV voltage level.

High-voltage lines may also cause sounds createdas a result o wind which shakes the various partso the line such as steel towers, conductors, cross-arms or insulators. These sounds occur irrespectiveo whether the line is live or not.

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Some medical devices inserted in the body (suchas pacemakers) may malunction under a transmis-sion line. Disturbance in a pacemaker can be redu-ced through adjustments and especially throughthe selection o an appropriate pacemaker.

FM radio transmission (VHF), i.e. the most com-mon broadcast or local radio transmission, is notdisturbed by transmission lines.

A transmission line disturbs the television signalonly in very rare cases. I problems occur, contact

Fingrids experts.

A hand-held uorescent lamp may light up undera transmission line as a result o the electric eldcreated by the conductors. The current passingthrough the lamp is naturally much weaker than

normally. The lamp glows weakly, and the lightemitted rom it cannot be compared to the lightemitted in the normal use o the lamp. The l ightcan only be seen when it is dusky. This purely

electric phenomenon does not mean that it wouldcause a health hazard.

One of the properties of the electric eld o atransmission line is that electrically conductiveobjects which are isolated rom the ground andlocated close to the line such as metal shovels,tools etc. become electrically charged. Anyone

working under a line also becomes electricallycharged. Usually, you do not even notice this, but

when you are wearing ootwear with a thick sole,such as rubber boots, you may eel a aint spark

when you touch a grounded object, or instancea metallic ence pole. The phenomenon is similarto and as harmless as the spark which is created

when taking o a sweater made o synthetic b-res. In the same way, the sparking o an umbrella,

or instance, under a transmission line is harmlessand caused by electric charge.

THESE ARE NEEDED FOR PERMITS AND STATEMENTS:

A map indicating the location of the intendedproject and the transmission line.

A layout drawing indicating the exact locati-on of the project with respect to the transmis-sion line.

The name, address and telephone numberof the applicant so that we can obtain additio-nal information if this is necessary.

Send the application to the below address:Fingrid OyjRistemlausunnotP.O. Box 530FI-00101 Helsinki, Finlandor by e-mail toristeamalausunnot@ngrid.

Projects near transmissionlinerequiring permit

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FINGRID OYJArkadiankatu 23 B, P.O. Box 530, FI-00101 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 (0)30 395 5000 | Telefax +358 (0)30 395 5196 | www.ngrid.

Hmeenlinna Network Control Centre | Tel. +358 (0)30 395 4300 (24 h duty)

living adjacent to a transmission line

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