Young boys find time to fly kites as their adult companions concentrate on Lenten reflections while on pilgrimage at the Tanchan Celestial Garden in Banawa, Cebu City. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
CEBU CITY, Philippines — While Visayan Electric continues to restore the power of many of their franchise areas in Metro Cebu, they are pleading with the public not to fly kites around power lines.
Kites getting entangled with power lines may cause power outages and electrocution.
In January 2022, the power utility has already recorded 10 kite-related incidents causing a total of 165.63 hours of power outages.
Assistant Vice President for Engineering Operations Mark Anthony Kindica said Typhoon Odette caused so much damage to the Visayan Electric distribution system that the level of reliability has not been restored to pre-Odette levels.
“Kite flying is a Pinoy tradition but it is also a potential hazard when done near power lines. It may cause power outages and even electrocution. As early as mid-January, we already experienced power outages that are caused by kites that got entangled with our power lines,” said Kindica.
He said that because linemen are busy with post-typhoon rehabilitation, power outages caused by kites may take longer than usual to restore.
Data from Visayan Electric’s Distribution Services Department shows that in 2021, a total of 59 kite-related incidents caused a total of 66.69 hours of power outages in different areas in its franchise.
Kindica said kite-flying should only be done in open areas, away from overhead power lines, to ensure the safety of kite-flyers, as well as the uninterrupted supply of electricity.
In Cebu City, City Ordinance 1471 prohibits flying kites near power lines, telecommunication lines, and other similar facilities and provides that kite flying should only be done in areas that are 3,000 square meters big, which is equivalent to six basketball courts.
The remaining open spaces in Cebu City that satisfy the requirements of the ordinance are mostly in the mountain barangays and at the South Road Properties.
Visayan Electric also warns against retrieving kites that get caught in power lines.
Once a kite gets caught in overhead power lines, release the string immediately and do not pull it or attempt to climb the electric pole to retrieve the kite.
Kite owners should immediately call Visayan Electric’s 230-8326 hotline or send a message through its Facebook page so that a crew can be sent to retrieve the kites. /rcg