Overhead Transmission Line Easement and Right-of-Way Cases in Crete, Greece: A Statistical Analysis of 1220 Cases from 1974 to 2019

D Pylarinos

doi:10.48084/etasr.3591

Abstract

Overhead Transmission Lines (OTLs) are used to carry High Voltage (HV) between HV substations, usually constructed at long distances from each other, thus spanning across numerous different properties. Easements, a legal term for nonpossessory rights, are essential to the utilities in order to maintain a Right-Of-Way (ROW) for construction and maintenance purposes in a corridor of land underneath the lines, and also to enforce certain restrictions within that corridor, in order to ensure the safety of both the OTLs and the public. The exact details of ROW corridors’ management vary between countries as the legislation and each utility’s approach may differ. This paper focuses on 1220 easements/ROW cases regarding the isolated HV Transmission System of the Greek island of Crete from 1974 to 2019. The various related factors are discussed and a statistical analysis of the records is performed.

Highlights

Electric power transmission between High Voltage (HV) substations is widely performed through the use of HV conductors suspended at safe distances above the ground, using specially designed structures such as lattice towers and poles of various materials [1]
The actual need is for the power utility in charge to have the right to visit the properties just for short periods of time and to enforce restrictions related to safety issues, for example tree trimming and restricting groundworks in vicinity of Overhead Transmission Lines (OTLs) [1,2,3,4, 7]
The vast majority of these cases (298 out of 356) are cases referring to the request of one pieces of basic information such as the existence of easements on a property, the nature of these easements, the exact Official Government Gazette (OGG) issues referring to these easements, the related maps/drawings, the expropriation and compensation procedure, the expropriated area on a specific property etc

Summary

Introduction

Electric power transmission between High Voltage (HV) substations is widely performed through the use of HV conductors suspended at safe distances above the ground, using specially designed structures such as lattice towers and poles of various materials (metal, wood, concrete) [1]. The actual need is for the power utility in charge to have the right to visit the properties just for short periods of time (e.g. during construction, inspection or maintenance) and to enforce restrictions related to safety issues, for example tree trimming and restricting groundworks in vicinity of OTLs (potential issues resulting from such cases are shown in Figure 1) [1,2,3,4, 7] For all these reasons, easements are usually preferred over actual purchases. Such factors include: construction and building activities of any kind (including additions in existing buildings/structures), groundworks of any kind (including dwelling, drilling, quarrying, excavating, landscaping etc), use of heavy machinery, irrigation works and related activities (e.g. use of water cannons, sprinklers etc), accumulation of flammable materials or garbage, fencing, initiating fires of any kind, flying objects, vegetation (including trees), lake, ponds, swimming pools etc [1, 7]

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion