Telephone pole powerhouse Japan-"No power pole" progress September 27 12:00
A large-scale blackout occurred in Chiba Prefecture due to Typhoon No. 15. The major cause was the “electric pole”. There are 35 million utility poles in Japan. The fall of some of them led to so much damage. However, overseas, there are cities that do not have one utility pole. Why has Japan become a “power pole powerhouse”? When I looked into it, I was able to see the cause only in Japan. (Social Department reporter Maria Kiyaki Ken Watanabe)
Telephone poles are vulnerable to disasters!
Chiba Prefecture where a power outage occurred in over 930,000 units. The main causes were the damage caused by the falling of the power pole, and the fact that the wires extending from the power pole were cut by fallen trees. This time, it is estimated that 2000 power poles fell, mainly in Chiba Prefecture.
The collapse of this utility pole. In the past, every earthquake, typhoon, and tornado caused damage.
In the Great East Japan Earthquake, 56,000 telephone poles were damaged. Telephone poles are very vulnerable to disasters.
Trump for power failure measures
“We once again recognized the need for“ non-electric poles ”that are less susceptible to damage from earthquakes and typhoons. We would like to promote the speed-up of“ non-electric poles. ”
This is a remark from the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Akabane who visited the affected areas in Chiba Prefecture. One of the future countermeasures is “removing utility poles”. I've heard of words, but how far is it going? I examined the data of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in detail.
“Non-electric pole” is the removal of electric poles on the ground by passing wires and the like underground. This is a drastic measure to eliminate the power outage damage, which eliminates the utility poles that fall due to the wind and earthquake. In addition to the benefit of widening the sidewalk, the scenery is also improved because there are no wires on the ground.
Delayed Japan's “non-electric pole”
Let's examine overseas cases. Efforts are being made in many cities, and in London, Paris, Hong Kong, and Singapore, the “electric pole ratio” is 100%! In other words, there are no utility poles in the city.
On the other hand, “Disaster Power” Japan. 8% in Tokyo 23 wards. Tokyo is the country without the most utility poles, but it is still 8%.
Looking at each prefecture, there were about 40% of prefectures with a “non-electric pole conversion rate” of less than 1%. Compared to overseas cities, Japan was far behind ...
Even more surprisingly, in Japan, the number of utility poles continued to increase, rather than the elimination of utility poles. In 2008, it was 35.25 million, but in 2017 it was 35.85 million. It has increased by 600,000 in 9 years. Approximately 70,000 utility poles will increase every year. Exactly, "electric pole power country Japan"! !
Because we aimed for early postwar reconstruction ...
Why has Japan become a “electric pole powerhouse”? When I asked the person in charge of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, I told them that the post-war reconstruction was the starting point.
Actually, before the war, in Japan, efforts were under way to bury electric wires underground. However, we face the challenge of how quickly reconstruction can proceed after the war.
The most important thing was to supply power quickly and stably. The government at that time chose to build a utility pole on the ground instead of the costly and time-consuming basement.
The person in charge said that the trend might have continued until the high economic growth period and now.
Electric poles built for the purpose of early post-war reconstruction are now plunged at the time of major disasters and are afflicting people. It seemed ironic.
Japan's unique wall that stands up
Then, shouldn't it be a matter of proceeding with “electric pole removal” like overseas? But that doesn't seem to happen.
The country made a law three years ago and decided to promote the elimination of utility poles. In the three years up to March next year, we have set a policy of making 2400 kilometers of electricity poles nationwide. However, it is quite difficult.
The most important reason is of course “cost”. It would cost 530 million yen to make a 1 kilometer area non-electric pole, and a sufficient budget could not be generated.
One of the reasons for the cost was the large “wall” that is unique to large cities in Japan such as Tokyo. That is the “underground” problem of burying electric wires.
Is the underground already full?
Let's go to see the “underground” problem. I was given a special entry to the construction site of the new Tokyo Metro station Toranomon Hills, which is under construction.
When I walked in the dark underground passage, I noticed various “tubes” of various sizes. It was stretched so that these were complicated. This is the big wall that hinders the elimination of utility poles.
In the basement, not only power cables but also gas pipes, water pipes, and communication cables are buried. Tokyo's basement is said to be the most complex in the world.
It is said that when connecting pipes and cables, even in the 23 wards of Tokyo alone, it will reach 100,000 km, the length of three rounds of the earth.
When I actually walked underground, I realized that most of Tokyo's basement is already in a “full tank” state.
There is no "plan"! Mistakes in "drawings"
Furthermore, it is said that the problem of “drawing” is preventing the use of telephone poles. In order to pass electric wires through the base of “Full Tank”, it is necessary to install it so that the mesh of pipes and cables will be closed.
However, no one has that “overall view”.
This is because the managers of the facilities are divided, such as gas companies for gas pipes, municipalities for water pipes, and electric power companies for electric wires. In the work, it is necessary to confirm the place where each drawing is passed while overlapping each other, which seems to be a big hassle.
When we interviewed the Toranomon Hills station, there were even more difficult problems. The person in charge points out that the drawings are often wrong.
“This pipe was actually about 20 cm below the position depicted in the drawing. If the actual position is different, the construction will be hindered. In consultation with the supplier who buried this pipe, I just returned to the position as shown in the drawing. ''
Is there such a thing that the actual position is different from the drawing!
A shocking remark from a member of another construction organization interviewed.
“There are many cases where the actual location is different from the location on the map. This has caused accidents such as damaging water pipes.”
According to the person concerned, there were about 20 accidents in Japan that damaged or cut water pipes and power cables due to incorrect drawings even in the last year alone. There were cases of water outages and power outages in the surrounding area.
Not only is the drawing wrong, but there are also cases where a tube that is not on any drawing and is not known by the administrator is buried. These tubes are called “unknown tubes” and cannot be removed without permission, and are very difficult to handle.
Accelerating the use of telephone poles with new technology
The movement to create underground "drawings" using new technology has also begun. It is an effort to run on roads all over Japan with a special car and explore the ground from the ground with radar.
Survey the underground space and analyze the information with AI. It distinguishes gas pipes, water pipes, communication cables, and other structures, and analyzes each position and shape accurately to create a 3D map.
A large-scale project in which a geological survey company and an electrical manufacturer have formed a tag. The demonstration experiment is about to start next month.
Will it turn into a “powerless pole powerhouse”?
When I interviewed, I found out that there are many reasons why the use of non-electric poles has not progressed easily.
However, every time a disaster occurs, it has been an obstacle to our lives, so I felt that it was necessary to proceed in earnest now, not just for things that could not be done.
I would like to continue to report on the issue of non-electric poles.