Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) will introduce a prepaid card system for eligible consumers in squatter settlements to combat illegal connection activities that is costing the utility supplier millions of ringgit losses yearly.
Chief Transformation Officer Ir. Norhizami Abu said the State Government has approved SESB’s proposal to use this method for supplying electricity in squatter settlements that would be identified.
With the method, Norhizami said supplying electricity to squatter settlements would be more convenient as consumers would only need to make up top-ups in the card according to the household’s suitability each month.
“The State Government in collaboration with the Energy Commission and SESB is in the process of finalising the procedures and supply mechanisms to the squatter settlements throughout Sabah,” he said in a statement, Sunday.
He was commenting on a statement issued by Bersatu Sabah Information Chief Khairul Firdaus Akhbar Khan on Saturday stating that the loss of millions of ringgit suffered by SESB due to electricity theft was due to SESB’s own bureaucracy.
“SESB understands the need for electricity supply is very important to every premise but to prevent unwanted incidents, illegal connections are strictly prohibited and we need to ensure electricity supply is obtained legally according to existing procedures and also comply with safety aspects by the Energy Commission,” he added. .
Meanwhile, Norhizami stressed that SESB would continue to carry out operations to combat theft of electricity or illegal connections and called for close and solid cooperation from all relevant parties.
He said irresponsible acts of stealing electricity and tampering with meters would not only cause a loss of millions of ringgit to SESB but also invite dangers such as short circuits that could result in fires and electrical accidents.
He said illegal connections of electricity supply also disrupts the stability of electricity supply when demand exceeds capacity, causing supply disruption to consumers.
SESB lost RM1,972,149 due to illegal electricity supply connections in Sandakan last year.
Its distribution division general manager, Addie Ahmad, said Sandakan was among the districts with the biggest number of squatter colonies resorting to illegal power supply connections in Sabah.
These illegal connections were found at 33 colonies, involving 2,293 premises, in Sandakan. They are among the 200 such colonies found in the state.
Addie said obtaining an illegal connection usually involved connecting a main electric wire to 10 to 20 houses, causing a high electricity load and the main wire to heat up.
He said illegal connections could cause not only electric shocks but also fire outbreaks.
“I urge the residents not to resort to this. They can apply for electricity supply from SESB. They must first seek approval from the local authority and obtain the relevant documents.”
Addie said the residents may have not done so due to the land ownership status problems as they were squatting and did not have citizenship documents.
The raiding party seized 432kg of electric cables at Kampung Tabah Baru, Kampung Disayang, Kampung Cenderamata and Kampung Lupak Meluas Darat in an operation.
