SESB to replace ageing Kinarut electricity poles
Published on: Tuesday, November 25, 2014
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd plans to upgrade the ageing installation, including electricity poles, in a Kinarut village. A spokesman for the firm said the work would be carried out in stages."We intend to replace those poles which have sustained damage due to wear and tear over the years," he said.
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"If all goes well, we tentatively hope to finish doing this by April next year." He was responding to a resident's complaint that it has taken "years" for SESB to attend to the fallen poles and low-hanging overhead lines in Kg Binsuang. The individual expressed his concern about the electrocution-hazard posed by the dangling cables in parts of the village which is situated about 12km away from town. He claimed to have first relayed his apprehensions to SESB in 2011 but, to date, no action had been taken to deal with this problem.The spokesman said its staff had gone to Kg Binsuang to examine the condition of the equipment servicing the residents.
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"Any effort to attend to these installations has been held up because there is no access road to the village,,' he said.He apologised, on behalf of SESB, for the inconvenience caused to consumers in the village. The residents said in some instances the cables were only centimetres away from the ground.
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"It is especially frightening to think of the risk to farmers of livestock, especially when these cables are hung across the paddy fields here," he said.He said some of the poles supporting the cables had been toppled by the strong winds and rain which the village had experienced over the years. "Others have gradually rotted away at the base and fallen over."He said the SESB office in Papar had been contacted repeatedly about this matter over the last four years. "Shortly after I first brought this matter to the firm's attention in 2011, some officers came to inspect the poles in the village. "They took some photographs and assured us that they would look into our concerns."Last year, he claimed to have been told by SESB staff that a shortage of poles had held up work to replace the wooden ones in the village.He was made to understand that the company's Papar branch was waiting to replenish its stock of these structures.He said he most recently contacted this office last month.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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