SOME power lines known as high voltage cables or high tension wires transmit electrical energy over long distances at very high voltage. These wires pose severe dangers due to the strength of the current being transmitted, but some Abuja residents live and transact business very close to these cables.
The dangers associated with proximity to high tension transmission lines have made the government prohibit building construction under such wires.
Laws such as the Nigerian Electricity Supply and Installation Standards Regulations of 2015 have been restricted to residents from building or transacting under high tension wires.
For cables with 330 kilovolts (kV) voltage levels, the regulation requires a distance of 50 metres from the line and 30 metres from 132kV wires. For wires with lower voltage levels such as 33kV and 11kV, the right of way required is 11metres. This measurement is to be taken from the centre of the line on either side.
But some residents in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) seem to be unbothered by these laws or the inherent danger. Instead, they constantly erect structures along the Right of Way (RoW) of these lines.
A thriving car dealership situated directly under a high tension pole can be spotted by passersby along the Gudu area of Apo.
In other parts of the city, several business owners and residents have erected structures under high tension cables, giving various reasons for flouting these laws.
Abuja businessman Steve Eke runs a car dealership directly under a high tension pole at Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Lugbe.
Eke told The ICIR that he doubts whether the cables bear electricity current. He said he had not heard any sound from the wires to suggest that they are in use, and there has been no government order requesting that they vacate the space.
“I don’t think it’s working. If it’s working, they will tell everybody to move out from under this high tension. There are so many houses around this area, I don’t think it’s functioning. If you are under high tension, you’ll be hearing the sound,” he said.
He also said the presence of a hang-out spot that operates very close to the poles reinforced his belief that the cables were not in order.
In the same area, Franklin Samuel sells Plaster of Paris (POP), a building material used in creating false ceilings. While Samuel thinks that the cables work, he said there were no other means of survival available to him as he could not afford to pay for alternative business spaces in the city.
“There is nothing we can do, that’s where we find ourselves. I can’t afford to pay for shops in these plazas,” he said.
He sees his action as a risk worth taking and depends on divine protection in the event of an electrical disaster.
“It’s Jesus that saves. There are risks everywhere in the world. Passing on the road is a risk. Walking with your legs is a risk. For me, staying under this place is a risk too. If God says you would die with this, definitely you will die with this. But if God says you won’t, then you won’t die with this,” he said.
A short distance from Samuel’s shop is a woman in her late forties who sells roasted plantains and yams and identifies as Mama Egomma.
A few years ago, Mama Egomma’s business was located in Kuje. But a demolition exercise had been carried out in the area which had affected her stall.
The only alternative she found was the space along the RoW of the power lines, where she has remained till now.
She is well aware of the risks involved but has faith that she will be safe in the event of a mishap.
“I’m not afraid. It can’t fall when I’m here because God knows that I’m here. I am not here by my strength and I am not here by mistake. If the wire wants to fall, maybe it’s when I haven’t come here or when I have finished and left,” she said.
A resident of Dutse Zone 7 Simeon Okoh runs a chemist shop not too far from a high voltage pole. He told The ICIR that one of the lines had fallen from the pole and caused a fire five years ago.
“There was a time there was a fire here. A wire even fell down here, but they came and repaired it then,” he said.
Simeon also said before the fire incident, electricity management officials had demolished buildings and shops within the RoW of the power cables, including his shop.
He said the officials had marked boundaries around the cables, and he, along with other affected residents, had rebuilt their shops outside the borders.
However, Okoh told The ICIR that some people who had recently relocated into the area were encroaching into the RoW of the power lines.
One of such persons is Toyin Ajibade, a tailor whose shop is located directly under a high tension cable.
Ajibade also believes that the high voltage cables were not in good working condition.
“This high tension, I don’t know anything about it. I just came to this side this year. But what I hear about the high tension is that the high tension is no more working,” she said.
She, however, did not get this information from any of the relevant authorities but only made enquiries from neighbours when she had acquired the shop.
In Dawaki, the RoW of high voltage cables are being converted to block industries by residents of the area.
Dangers of living and transacting under high tension wires
Electrocution is one of the most common dangers of living or transacting within the RoW of high tension cables.
In Abuja, several cases of electrocution have been recorded over the past five years.
The Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) said in 2019 that 453 persons were electrocuted between 2015 and October 2018.
There are also chances of a cable falling from a pole, which can result in fire incidents.
High tension cables also emit electric and magnetic fields known as electromagnetic radiation.
Exposure to large amounts of electromagnetic radiation can be dangerous to human health, but there has been no conclusive evidence that radiation from high tension cables is enough to cause damage to the human body.
Managing Director NEMSA Peter Ewesor, in an interview with The ICIR said living and trading beneath these power lines was risky to both defaulters of the law and other residents due to the risks involved.
“Any person who is living within that right of way is at his own risk to himself and to others,” he said.
Ewesor also noted that there were sanctions against living or transacting under power cables, but the tenacity to enforce the sanctions was lacking in the country. He, however, added that plans had been put in place to demolish structures illegally erected under high tension wires in Abuja.
Some Abuja residents cannot identify high tension wires by kilovolts and therefore find it difficult to determine how much distance is required.
Ewesor told The ICIR that the easiest way to differentiate high tension cables based on kilovolts was by their poles.
He said 330kV and 132kV lines were usually attached to towers while 33kV and 11kV cables were connected to concrete poles.
“As a layman, those big towers are either 330kV or 132kV. The ones that are 33kV and 11kV are those ones we put on concrete poles,” he said.
Ewesor also said sound emanating from high tension cables indicates that energy is being transmitted at a higher voltage.
He, however, noted that sound wasn’t necessarily the only indication that the power cables were in working condition.
“When it’s giving sound, you know that the line is under intense load. We call it pressure. But if it is carrying power that is below its capacity, you won’t hear any sound,” he said.
The FCT Department for Development Control, responsible for ensuring compliance with the Abuja Master Plan, said there was no approval given by the Department to erect buildings or conduct business under high tension wires.
In an interview with The ICIR, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Department Larry Afu described the structures as illegal and said it was only a matter of time before they were pulled down.
He, however, noted that the workload was constantly increasing and a shortage of equipment made the demolition process a lot slower.
“You may request for a machine and the machine is somewhere else. We don’t have equipment to follow up work immediately. That’s why at times it takes time before we visit the site,” he said.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.