Hermosa–Duhat–Balintawak Transmission Line

The Hermosa–Duhat–Balintawak Transmission Line began construction in September 1993 and went into service in June 1994. Originally commissioned by the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR), it is now operated and maintained by National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

Prior to the completion of the line's cut-in connection to Manila Electric Company (Meralco) Duhat substation in Duhat, Bocaue, Bulacan in November 16, 2009, it was a one-part power line and had direct tap connection. It originally had a length of 91 km (57 mi) from June 1994 to March 2011 and was reduced to 86.4 km (53.7 mi) when the transmission line's San Simon–Pulilan segment was relocated along North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) in March 2011.

Hermosa–Duhat

From upper-left:
1. Two visible incomplete design lattice towers (56 and 57) located near Santa Cruz Bridge in Lubao, Pampanga. Nearby is steel pole 55 that anchors to lattice tower 56.
2. Some the steel poles (of suspension or triangle design) along Jose Abad Santos Avenue, Lubao, Pampanga
3. Portal towers located between steel pole 98 and lattice tower 99. Nearby is the Mexico-Hermosa transmission line.
4. Steel poles 262–265, 268 (262–264 and 268 are suspension towers and has flag design while 265 is an anchor tower and also has a flag tower design, with the five mentioned poles serve as replacement steel poles) and lattice towers 266 and 267 (of three-level, incomplete tower design and using NAPOCOR-era towers 264 and 265), part of the relocated San Simon–Pulilan segment of the line, along Candaba Viaduct in Apalit, Pampanga. Note that towers 266 and 267 were already painted wholly with aluminum paint while steel poles 262–265 and 268 are partially painted with the said paint.
5. Steel pole 424 near Ciudad de Victoria interchange. Originally had a triangle design from 1994 to 2019, it was changed to asymmetric due to the construction of the said interchange.

The transmission line starts at Hermosa Substation and parallels with the Jose Abad Santos Avenue until San Fernando Exit of NLEx. Upon passing the Bataan–Pampanga welcome arch, it enters Pampanga and continues straightforward. The line intersects with Hermosa–Guagua in Lubao, Mexico–Hermosa in Lubao, Guagua, Bacolor, and San Fernando, and Hermosa–San Jose lines in Guagua while running parallel with the said avenue. Upon approaching Santa Barbara Bridge, it will utilize the eastern side of the avenue. The power line then passes through lahar-filled Bacolor and enters San Fernando upon passing the city's welcome arch. After Villa del Sol in Magliman, San Fernando, the line again utilizes the western side of the road. It then passes through Lazatin and Dolores Flyovers and various establishments within San Fernando, and enters the western side of NLEx, where it runs parallel to it until Smart Connect Interchange.

After entering NLEx, it intersects with Mexico–Hermosa line for a fifth and final time. It continues on a straight route, intersecting with Mexico–Balintawak and Mexico–Calumpit lines in Santo Tomas, and passes through San Simon Exit (where the line left the NLEx alignment prior to the relocation of its San Simon–Pulilan section in 2011).[lower-alpha 6] The line then continues on a straight direction, runs parallel with Candaba Viaduct where it passes through Pampanga River and ricefields located within Apalit, Calumpit, and Pulilan, and enters Bulacan after passing a billboard located near steel pole 271. It passes through Pulilan Exit (where it reentered the NLEx alignment from 1994 to 2011) and continues straightforward. The power line intersects with Hermosa–San Jose in Plaridel and Mexico–Balintawak lines in Guiguinto for the second time, passes into Balagtas Interchange, Bigaa and Santa Maria Rivers, Bocaue Exit, Bocaue Toll Plaza, and Ciudad de Victoria Interchange. It turns left into Meralco Duhat Substation a few meters after passing Ciudad de Victoria interchange, where the line's Hermosa–Duhat section ends.

Duhat–Balintawak

From upper-left:
1. Steel poles 446–448 (with 446 is an anchor tower and has flag design while 447 and 448 are suspension towers and have triangle design) along NLEx in Marilao, Bulacan.
2. Steel pole 479 (of suspension or triangle design) situated along NLEx near Canumay Overpass Bridge in Valenzuela.
3. Steel poles 481–483 (with 481 and 482 are suspension towers and have triangle and flag tower designs, respectively while 483 is an anchor tower and has flag design) along NLEx in Valenzuela.
4. Steel poles 485, 486, and 487 (with 485 and 486 are anchor towers and has flag design while 487 is suspension tower and also has flag tower design) near Paso de Blas interchange, and along West Service Road and NLEX in Valenzuela.
5. Steel poles 493–495 (with 493 is suspension tower while 494 and 495 are anchor towers and all three mentioned poles have flag design) along NLEX and near Smart Connect Interchange in Valenzuela and lattice towers 497–498 (with incomplete tower designs, 497 itself is an anchor tower and 498 is a suspension tower) passing through residential areas within the said city. The Mexico–Balintawak transmission line is also visible from the expressway.

The line turns left upon entering NLEx and continues on a straight direction. A few meters after crossing Meycauayan River, it enters Metro Manila. It then utilizes the eastern side of NLEx after steel pole 488, leaves the expressway at Smart Connect Interchange, passes through residential areas, establishments, and institutions located within Caloocan and Quezon City, and crosses into Quirino Highway before the transmission line ends at Balintawak Substation, after crossing F. Carlos St.

The transmission line originally had 504 steel poles (1–55, 58–98, 100–263, 266–496, 500–511, and 515), 11 lattice towers (56, 57, 99, 264, 265, 497–499, and 512–514), and 12 portal towers totaling to 527 structures when it was first commissioned in June 1994.

Before the Lahar-Affected Relocation and Hermosa-Balintawak Relocation projects in 2003 and 2011, respectively, it had:

• 32 steel poles (126-158; located at the western side of Jose Abad Santos Avenue (Olongapo–Gapan Road); retired except steel pole 127 which was used on a cut-in connection to Meralco Duhat Substation)
• 3 portal towers (located between steel poles 139 and 140, and 144 and 145; retired)
• 1 h-frame wood pole (used to replace steel pole 143 because it was washed out by lahars from Mt. Pinatubo; retired)
• 84 steel poles and 2 lattice towers located along MacArthur Highway and Pulilan Regional Road, respectively (228–313; steel poles 228, 229, 231, 259, 260, 261, 266, 267, 271, 275, 276, 283, 301, and 302 and lattice towers 264 and 265 were reused. The other 70 steel poles (230, 232–258, 262, 263, 268–270, 272–274, 277–282, 284–300, and 303–313) located in this segment, however, were retired.)

As of March 2011, the transmission line consists of:

• 483 steel poles (Hermosa–Duhat segment: 1–55, 58–98, 100–125, RHB-01–RHB-30, 159–254, 257–265, 268–289, 314–429, and 3 steel poles used on its cut-in connection to Meralco Duhat substation in Duhat, Bocaue, Bulacan; Duhat–Balintawak segment: 5 steel poles used on the line's cut-in connection to the said substation including original steel pole 127 along NLEx, 430–496, 500–511, and 515)
• 13 lattice towers (Hermosa–Duhat segment: 56, 57, 99, 255, 256, 266, and 267; Duhat–Balintawak segment: 497–499, 512–514)
• 9 portal towers
• 1 concrete pole (58A)

From upper-left:
1. One of the replacement poles used in the Lahar-Affected Transmission Line relocation project (of anchor or flag design) along Jose Abad Santos Avenue, Bacolor, Pampanga. Replacement lattice towers of Hermosa–San Jose and Mexico–Hermosa lines can be seen in the background.
2. Steel pole 474 near Dulalia Overpass in Valenzuela. Originally had a triangle design from 1994 to 2007, the said pole was changed to flag design when it was replaced by newer and higher ones due to the construction of an overpass mentioned before (and also retiring NAPOCOR-era steel pole 474).
3. Steel poles 426–431 and original pole 127 along NLEX in Bocaue, Bulacan. Pole 426 is an anchor tower and has flag tower design while poles 427, 428, 430, and 431 are suspension towers and has triangle design. Original pole 127 and steel pole 429, however, are branch pylons and used to connect the transmission line to Meralco Duhat substation through its cut-in connection with the said substation. Steel poles used on the line's cut-in connection with Duhat substation are visible from the expressway.
4. Steel pole near Duhat Overpass (of anchor or flag design) used on the transmission line's cut-in connection to Meralco Duhat substation.
5. Steel poles 164–166 (of anchor or flag design) along Jose Abad Santos Avenue, San Fernando, Pampanga. The square asphalt marking at the middle of the road is the location where steel pole 167 was originally located before its relocation at the side of an avenue in 2011 using NAPOCOR-era steel pole 275 and also retiring pole 167 itself.
6. Steel pole 167 (using NAPOCOR-era steel pole 275 and of anchor or flag design) near Dolores Flyover in San Fernando, Pampanga. Originally located at the middle of Jose Abad Santos Avenue, the said pole was relocated at the edge of the road because it posed a safety hazard.

To protect the transmission line structures from corrosion, several steel poles, lattice towers, and portal towers (including replacement poles and towers that were constructed by National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) and NGCP located on some portions of the line) are being painted with aluminum paint. Some of the structures (i.e. lattice towers 497–499 and 512–514) were painted before the painting of steel poles was started. Painting of the transmission line's steel poles began in 2015. As of 2019, the line has 382 structures with aluminum paint (370 steel poles (89–98, 100–125, RHB-1–RHB-30, 178–254, 257–265, 268–289, 314–496, 500–511, 515), 11 lattice towers (99, 255, 256, 266, 267, 497–499, 512–514), and 1 portal tower).

TransCo relocated its Santa Barbara Bridge–Villa del Sol segment through the Lahar-Affected Transmission Line Relocation project, using 30 replacement steel poles. It was completed in April 2003.[1]

In 2007, 3 steel poles were relocated due to the construction of Dulalia Overpass using 2 existing steel poles (473 and 475) and 1 replacement steel pole (474).

The cut-in connection to Meralco Duhat substation was constructed to avoid line overloading and maintain N-1 contingency. It was completed in November 16, 2009. This cut-in connection to the said substation divides the transmission line into two segments and because of this, the line is now referred to as Hermosa–Duhat from Hermosa Substation to Duhat Substation and Duhat–Balintawak from Duhat Substation to Balintawak Substation.

In 2010, 3 replacement and higher steel poles (381–383) were used due to the construction of Plaridel Bypass Road, with NAPOCOR-era steel poles 381 and 382 were reused as part of Hermosa-San Jose line while pole 383 was retired.

Steel poles 234–237, 244, 245, 247, 257–265 and lattice towers 255, 256, and 266, part of the line's San Simon–Pulilan section which was relocated in 2011 due to the widening of MacArthur Highway where the steel poles posed a safety hazard, along North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) in San Simon and Apalit, Pampanga. Poles 234–236, 247, and 265 are anchor towers and has flag design, 237 is suspension tower and has triangle design, 244, 245, 257–264 are also suspension towers and has flag design, and lattice towers 255, 256, and 266 are also anchor towers and has three-level, incomplete tower design. Poles 237, 244, 245, 257–265 and towers 255 and 256 serve as replacement steel poles and lattice towers while poles 234–236, 247 and tower 266 use NAPOCOR-era steel poles 228, 229, 231, 267 and lattice tower 264. These were later painted with aluminum paint in 2019.

In March 25, 2011, the Hermosa-Balintawak Transmission Line Relocation project was completed. It involved the relocation of its San Simon–Pulilan segment along NLEx using 58 steel poles (45 replacement and 13 existing poles) and 4 lattice towers (2 replacement and 2 existing towers).[2][3][4] Relocation works along the said transmission line segment started in the first quarter of 2010 with the construction and installation of 45 replacement steel poles (229–233, 237, 238, 241, 242, 244–246, 248–253, 257–265, 268–275, 277–280, 282, 283, 285–288) and 2 lattice towers (255 and 256) for the transmission project mentioned before. Removal of 84 NAPOCOR-era steel poles (228–263, 266–313) and 2 lattice towers (264 and 265) as well as the retirement of 70 out of 84 steel poles (230, 232–258, 262, 263, 268–270, 272–274, 277–282, 284–300, 303–313) that were located along MacArthur Highway from San Simon, Pampanga to Caltex in Calumpit, Bulacan and Pulilan Regional Road from Calumpit to Pulilan Exit in Pulilan, however, was completed in June 2011, 3 months after the completion and energization of the relocated San Simon–Pulilan section of the transmission line.

One steel pole that was located near Dolores Flyover was relocated at the edge of Jose Abad Santos Avenue while the relocation of the transmission line's San Simon–Pulilan section was ongoing using NAPOCOR-era steel pole 275 which was originally located along MacArthur Highway in Calumpit and now serves as the line's steel pole 167 since 2011, while pole 167 itself was retired.

Currently, the San Fernando segment of the line is undergoing relocation through the Relocation of Hermosa–Duhat Transmission Line project to alleviate heavy traffic along Jose Abad Santos Avenue due to the presence of its electric poles standing on the highway itself, and to pave the way for the expansion of some segments of the avenue, particularly at Barangay Dolores.[5][6] This is the third time where relocation works along the line's San Fernando section is made, after the Lahar-Affected Transmission Line Relocation project in 2003 and the relocation of steel pole 167 at the edge of Jose Abad Santos Avenue using NAPOCOR-era steel pole 275 in 2011.

Businessmen and residents along the stretch of Jose Abad Santos Avenue expressed opposition to the relocation of the line's San Fernando segment inside their respective property lines. The group named Fernandino Jasa stakeholders, composed of owners of different businesses including gasoline stations, restaurants and automotive, and residents of Villa Barosa Subdivision, met Wednesday morning to air their concerns over the possible risks and hazards on their health and properties if the relocation of steel poles is implemented.

Laus, who led the stakeholders meeting, stressed that the steel poles carry 230,000 volts of electricity and their relocation closer to their business offices and residences will pose a threat to the health and safety of employees, customers, visitors, and others who stay around the area on a daily basis. He added that in times of calamities like earthquakes or typhoons, the live wires could get cut and swing towards buildings that may not only damage infrastructures but also may also compromise human lives and said that the move is intended to safeguard the motoring public but they must also consider health hazards and danger that the steel poles may cause inside property lines. Laus also noted the movement of steel poles at the side may still affect the aesthetic of the capital city and worst, will deprive it from huge development such as construction of skyscrapers and tall buildings especially along this major thoroughfare. He proposed that the steel poles must be relocated in an open area or rice field that is less populated instead of moving them near business and residential areas and noted that NGCP has warned the public to avoid constructing infrastructures 30 meters away from any steel poles, yet they are putting it just five meters away from a more populated one.

Marie Guevarra, a resident of Villa Barosa Subdivision Phase 2, lamented the pending loss of their home and livelihood should the program pursue. She said that while their lives and properties are at stake, the NGCP haven’t coordinated with them ever since the project. Marco Hizon, who represented the Hizon Group of Companies, asked the NGCP to initiate a meeting with the affected stakeholders and the city government of San Fernando to discuss and settle the concern. He stressed that the three parties must meet at a common ground immediately since the matter concerns health, security and economy.[7]

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