The Sucat–Paco–Araneta–Balintawak Transmission Line (abbreviated as SA, 8LI1QUE-DIM, 8LI1DIM-MNA, 8LI1MNA-MUN,) also known as Muntinlupa–Manila–Doña Imelda–Quezon Transmission Line, is a 230,000 volt, single-circuit, three-part transmission line in

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

that connects Sucat and Balintawak substations of

National Grid Corporation of the Philippines The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is a privately owned corporation that was created on January 15, 2009, through RA 9511. It is a consortium of three corporations, namely Monte Oro Grid Resources Corporation, Calaca High Po ...

(NGCP), with line segment termination at NGCP Araneta substation in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

and

Manila Electric Company The Manila Electric Company (), also known as Meralco (, ), is an electric power distribution company in the Philippines. It is Metro Manila's only electric power distributor and holds the power distribution franchise for 22 cities and 89 munic ...

(Meralco) Paco substation in Paco,

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

History

Balintawak-Araneta-Sucat Trans line rerouting Skyway Stage 3-2jwilz

The Sucat–Paco–Araneta–Balintawak Transmission Line began construction in 1996 and went into service in 2000. It is operated by the privately-owned

(NGCP) since January 15, 2009, and previously by government-owned companies

National Transmission Corporation The National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) is a Philippine government-owned and controlled corporation created in 2001 by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Republic Act 9136) and a corporate entity wholly owned by the Power Sector Ass ...

(TransCo) and

National Power Corporation The National Power Corporation ( fil, Pambansang Korporasyon sa Elektrisidad, also known as Napocor, NPC or National Power), is a Philippine government-owned and controlled corporation that is mandated to provide electricity to all rural areas of ...

(NAPOCOR). It was owned previously by NAPOCOR from 2000 to March 1, 2003 and is owned currently by TransCo since March 1, 2003. With the construction of the

Skyway Stage 3 Skyway, officially known as the Metro Manila Skyway System (MMSS), is an elevated highway which is the main expressway in Metro Manila, Philippines. It connects the North (NLEX) and South Luzon Expressways (SLEX) with access to Ninoy Aquino ...

, several steel poles are being replaced by newer ones specifically those along the Araneta segment and also added new poles on certain portions of the line.

Route description

The Sucat–Paco–Araneta–Balintawak Transmission Line passes through the cities of

Muntinlupa Muntinlupa, officially the City of Muntinlupa ( fil, Lungsod ng Muntinlupa), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the ...

Taguig Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig ( fil, Lungsod ng Taguig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 886,722 people. Located in the northwestern shores of ...

Makati Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentration ...

, and

. The Sucat–Paco and Paco–Araneta segments are under NGCP's South Luzon Operations and Maintenance (SLOM) District 1 (South Western Tagalog) while the Araneta–Balintawak segment is under North Luzon Operations and Maintenance (NLOM) District 7 (National Capital Region).

Sucat–Paco

The transmission line starts at Sucat Substation where it parallels Manuel L. Quezon Avenue and Laguna Lake Highway before it turns left. It then passes to Diego Silang Village and parallels with Carlos P. Garcia Avenue. It goes to the left again, passing through

Manila American Cemetery The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial is located in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Metro Manila, within the boundaries of the former Fort William McKinley. It can be reached most easily from the city via EDSA to McKinley Road, then to McKinle ...

and Bonifacio Heights before paralleling to

South Luzon Expressway The South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), signed as E2 of the Philippine expressway network and R-3 of the Metro Manila arterial road network, is a limited-access toll expressway that connects Metro Manila to the provinces in the Calabarzon region ...

(SLEx) from Maricaban Creek to

Magallanes Interchange The Magallanes Interchange is a four-level partial turbine interchange in Makati, Metro Manila, the Philippines, serving as the junction between the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), Osmeña Highway, and Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). It is a ...

and

Osmeña Highway The President Sergio Osmeña Sr. Highway (often shortened as Osmeña Highway), also known as the South Superhighway, is a major highway that links Quirino Avenue in Paco, Manila, Paco, Manila to EDSA, Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) and S ...

from Magallanes Interchange to

Quirino Avenue President Elpidio Quirino Avenue, more commonly known as Quirino Avenue, is a 6-10 lane divided highway in Manila, Philippines. It runs for in a northeast–southwest direction from Nagtahan Bridge (now Mabini Bridge) across from Santa Mesa in ...

. At Magallanes Interchange, it crosses to

Epifanio delos Santos Avenue Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, commonly referred to by its acronym EDSA, is a limited-access circumferential highway around Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It passes through 6 of Metro Manila's 17 local government units or cities, ...

(EDSA). It continues on a straight route and after crossing

Gil Puyat Avenue Senator Gil J. Puyat Avenue, also known simply as Gil Puyat Avenue and formerly and still referred to as Buendia Avenue, is a major arterial thoroughfare which travels east–west through the cities of Makati and Pasay in western Metro Manila, P ...

are 7 new steel poles that were used for the relocation of the line due to the construction of

Skyway A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of enclos ...

Stage 3. It crosses to

San Andres Bukid San Andres (also San Andres Bukid, ''bukid'' being the Tagalog for "farm" or "icefield") is a district of Manila, Philippines. San Andres shares the Estero Tripa de Gallina as its western and northern border with the districts of Malate and Paco ...

and

Paco Paco is a Spanish nickname for Francisco. According to folk etymology, the nickname has its origins in Saint Francis of Assisi, who was the father of the Franciscan order; his name was written in Latin by the order as ''Pater Communitatis'' (fath ...

. The cut-in connection to Meralco Paco substation is located in this district, where the line's Sucat–Paco section ends.

Paco–Araneta

The line parallels to

Tomas Claudio Street The Nagtahan Link Bridge is a series of Bridge, road bridges crossing the Pasig River between the districts of Paco, Manila, Paco and Santa Mesa in Manila, Philippines. Constructed from 1996 to 1998, the road links and bridges pass along the P ...

(or Paco–Santa Mesa Road),

PNR A passenger name record (PNR) is a record in the database of a computer reservation system (CRS) that contains the itinerary for a passenger or a group of passengers travelling together. The concept of a PNR was first introduced by airlines that n ...

Metro Commuter railroad and

Magsaysay Boulevard Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard, also known simply as Magsaysay Boulevard and formerly as Santa Mesa Boulevard, is the principal artery of Santa Mesa in Manila, Philippines. It is a six-lane divided roadway that travels east–west from Gregorio Aran ...

, turns left to

Gregorio Araneta Avenue Gregorio Araneta Avenue is a suburban arterial road in the Santa Mesa Heights area of Quezon City, northeastern Metro Manila, Philippines. It is a 6- to 8-lane divided avenue designated as part of Circumferential Road 3 (C-3) and physical contin ...

and run parallel with the said avenue and

, and the line's Paco–Araneta section ends at Araneta Substation.

Araneta–Balintawak

The line continues paralleling Araneta Avenue and Skyway Stage 3 until it passes to Valentin Ventura Street, Tuktukan Street, and Kaingin Road before it crosses to EDSA. It turns left and after a few meters is the transmission line's terminus which is Balintawak Substation.

Technical description

The transmission line consists of 214 steel poles (54 on the Balintawak–Araneta segment (1–54) and 160 on the Araneta–Paco and Paco–Sucat segments (1–8, 30-149, 150A, 150B, and 155–185)), 26 lattice towers (9-29, 150, and 151–154), and 1 portal tower located between steel poles 49 and 50 ((8LI1MNA-MUN)97) totaling to 241 transmission structures. Steel poles have flag tower design (suspension and anchor variants), while lattice towers have incomplete tower design. Portal towers are used on portions of the line where it intersects with another power line. It has a length of 34 kilometers (21 mi) and is a single-circuit, double-bundle power line. From 2000 until the completion of the line's cut-in connection to

(Meralco) Paco Substation, it was a two-part power line. Due to the construction of the line's cut-in connection to Meralco Paco Substation, two new steel poles were added between poles 143 and 144 of the Sucat–Araneta segment of the line. This cut-in connection to the said substation also made the transmission line from being a two-part to three-part power line. In 2018, a portal tower located between steel poles 53 and 54 ((8LI1MNA-MUN)92) was removed and retired to give way for the widening of Lawton Avenue in

Health controversy

The SLEx (Makati) – Bonifacio Heights (Taguig) segment of Sucat–Paco–Araneta–Balintawak Transmission Line was criticized by the residents living along the Tamarind Road in Dasmariñas Village, Makati, who claimed the transmission line pose health risks. The said segment is located within 10 meters of Tamarind Road in the said village. The residents, led by Atty. Eduardo F. Hernandez, blamed the

electromagnetic fields An electromagnetic field (also EM field or EMF) is a classical (i.e. non-quantum) field produced by (stationary or moving) electric charges. It is the field described by classical electrodynamics (a classical field theory) and is the classical co ...

(EMF) emanated by the 230-kV power lines for such health issues as

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

, and

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...

. They also took note of no consultation with regards to the construction of the transmission line. A case was filed in Makati Regional and Metropolitan Trial Court (Makati RTC) in 2000, but was raised to the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

after failed negotiations. Responding to the petition filed by the residents, the Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that the safety issue of the lines was "evidentiary in nature," although they took note of the potential health risks due to EMF radiation exposure with regards to the scientific studies. The Court also added that long-term human safety should be of paramount importance as opposed to the presumption of economic benefits. Citing the said ruling, the Makati RTC in October 2008 obliged the

(TransCo) to "de-energize" the Sucat–Paco–Araneta–Balintawak Transmission Line. TransCo vice president for operations Carlito Claudio warned in November 2008 that complete retirement of the transmission line could trigger "hours-long rotating blackouts, just like during the power crisis in the 1990s," that might adversely impact the country's leading economic hubs of

and

Ortigas Ortigas Center is a central business district located within the joint boundaries of Pasig, Mandaluyong and Quezon City, within the Metro Manila region in the Philippines. With an area of more than , it is Metro Manila's second most important bu ...

, and added the unfeasibility of building an alternate underground cable line that would cost billion. Former TransCo president Alan Ortiz noted the transmission line as a crucial line, and said claims of electromagnetic radiation associated with high-voltage transmission lines like this "have yet to be 100-percent scientifically established." TransCo submitted a motion to the Supreme Court asking that they be granted until January 31, 2009 to carry out activities and coordination works in alleviating the impact of the impending shutdown, but was refused and instead supported the Makati RTC's decision in shutting the transmission line down. In its February 5, 2013 order, the Makati RTC approved the request of the petitioners, referring the case back to another branch following the failure of the judicial dispute resolution. The case is still pending at its pre-trial stage.

Gallery

03269jfInterchange Arnaiz Pasay Road railway station Makati Cityfvf 09.jpg, The transmission line near Arnaiz Avenue in Makati Skyway Stage 3 Pandacan Upper Deck 2021-02-14.jpg, Lattice towers 150 and 151, and new steel poles 150A and 150B (of anchor or flag design) along the Tomas Claudio Street/Skyway Stage 3 segment Pole 163 of Sucat-Araneta-Balintawak trans line Sept 2016fvf.jpg, Steel pole 163 located along

. Note that the lowest insulator on the left in which it connects to a support steel pole instead of directly connecting to pole 162 like the rest of its insulators. 402Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 Project Section 61.jpg, Steel pole 13 (of suspension or flag design, in the foreground) and 14 (of anchor or flag design, in the background) of the transmission line along the east side of the Gregorio Araneta Avenue 244Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 Project Section 39.jpg, Replacement pole for the pole 28 along the west side of the Gregorio Araneta Avenue

Notes

References

External links

Philippines_Sucat_Balintawak_2007.pdf
- 2007 evaluation by Entwicklungsbank.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Sucat-Paco-Araneta-Balintawak Transmission Line Energy infrastructure completed in 2000 Transmission lines in the Philippines