SESB says contractors main cause of blackouts

Contractors of development projects around the State should give Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) advance notice of their work, especially when it comes to laying underground installations or widening roads.

The firm hopes, in this way, to minimise any power outages that may inadvertently be caused by such excavation activities.

An SESB spokeswoman said the accidental damage of its power lines was among the chief causes for blackouts in Sabah.

“This is especially so in rural areas,” she said.

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“Contractors, including those with the Water, Public Works and Drainage and Irrigation Departments, unwittingly hit our underground cables while digging into the soil creating a weak point in places where the damage occurs.”

“The damaged sections of our installations will be repaired but these ‘weak points’ may give rise to problems with our system in future.”

She said a SESB representative could be assigned to construction sites to minimise the incidence of such accidental damage.

“This can only be done if we are forewarned of where this work is taking place.

SESB staff will step up efforts to maintain its cables and poles in Beaufort.

“To this end, we advise developers and contractors to notify us beforehand of the location of their projects.”

On a complaint about an outage in a Lumadan village, the spokeswoman said damage to a cable servicing the area was to blame for the problem.

A Beaufort consumer was upset by the lengthy delay he experienced in having the supply restored to his home in Kg Tinimungon-Limpotong. At the time that he contacted Hotline, he had been without power for five days.

The spokeswoman said a technical team was immediately sent to the village, after the media alerted SESB to plight of the rural folk staying there. “A preliminary check revealed that an 11kiloVolt transmission line, which was buried underground, had been damaged,” she said.

“Our personnel began working to restore the supply to the village the next day.

She said an excavator was deployed to the area to facilitate these efforts. “It took some time for the repairs to be completed due to the heavy rains which the district was experiencing at the time.”

JULIAN of Beaufort said he and his neighbours in Kg Tinimungon-Limpotong had been without a supply since June 1.

“The power went off around 3pm in all of the 10 households here,” he said.

The supply to his home still had not been restored when he contacted Hotline at 11.30am on June 5.

“I have not been able get a proper sleep because of the outage,” he said.

The debris of the former rusty pole can be seen at the base of the new one.

“Most of the items in my refrigerator, including the seafood, had to be thrown away as they have gone bad.”

He said he had wearied of contacting SESB’s 15454 – Customer Management Centre (CMC) about the outage.

“I placed my first call to the Centre shortly after the electricity first went off.

“I was informed, at one stage, that a damaged cable was to blame for the disruption.

“From what I gather, a private contractor accidentally dug into the underground line while trying to widen a section of the main road.”

The village is located off Mile 6 Jalan Tamalang- Along, according to him.

Julian said even the Chairman for the Village’s Development and Security Committee (JPKK) tried to ascertain why it was taking days to restore the power to all those living there.

This Beaufort village was without power for close to a week earlier in June.

Shortly thereafter, a team from SESB came to Kg Tinimungon. Despite this action, he and his neighbours did not regain their supply after these personnel left.

Julian said he asked the CMC staff about this and was redirected to a SESB technician.

“I was made to understand that there was little the standby crew could do as the electricity system here was not under the company’s jurisdiction. “These installations, including the power poles, apparently belonged to the State Government and yet to be handed over to SESB.” Meanwhile, the company has replaced an Inanam power pole, following a complaint that the structure was rusty and could fall over if the corrosion was not checked.

The spokeswoman said this action was taken in the interest of public safety.

“With the exception of the rusty pole, most of the others were not in any danger of toppling over,” she said. “Their cement foundations were still intact and they were supported by a pole strut, as well as stray wires.”

ERICA of Inanam said many of the poles in her area looked as if they could fall over at any time.

“The bottom of the poles have been eaten away by rust as these structures have not been maintained in a while,” she said.

“I fear that some vehicle might be damaged, or worse still some passer-by might be injured, if any of these poles were to collapse.”

She said a few of these structures were bending over.

“I suspect that the weight of the wires attached to the poles is more than the latter can support.

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“The one outside my front gate is leaning over towards my compound. I fear that it might it might topple and damage my property, if the overhead lines snap.”

Erica provided Hotline with the location of her home. This information was forwarded to SESB.

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