Public Works Department seeks Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd’s help to deal with illegal connections
Published on: Wednesday, May 17, 2023
By: Sidney Skinner
City Hall technicians reattaching the wires to the new light which was put near the commercial centre on Lorong Sri Kolombong.
The Public Works Department has sought the assistance of Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) to deal with the illegal connections which have been made to some of the firm’s overhead lines along the main road between Taman Putera Jaya and Bandar Sierra.The power theft has apparently been causing the public lighting along a 1.6 kilometre section of Jalan Tuaran, where the Pan Borneo road widening work is being carried out, to malfunction.
The Pan Borneo safety contractor and his team spot a location along the overhead lines where power theft is occurring.
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City Hall, on the other hand, has attended to several streetlights on two housing roads in the Hilltop area of Luyang, as well as one behind a commercial centre on Lorong Sri Kolombong, which recently fell over.
This action was prompted by separate feedback from three motorists about the traffic hazards posed by the lack of illumination and other streetlight-related irregularities. Their grievances were forwarded to the pertinent agencies.
A Department spokesman said the lights in the middle of the affected span of Jalan Tuaran had been deactivated for the time being as these amenities had not been operating as they should.
“The system has increasingly been subject to short circuits, over the past few months. This has caused the lights to blink on and off like Hari Raya decorative lights,” he said.
Illegal connections like this have caused the public lighting along the road to malfunction.
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“The safety contractor, attached to this package of the Pan Borneo construction project, and his team looked into this problem and, subsequently, spotted several places where the electricity was being tapped.”
He said the Department had reported these findings to SESB.
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“We hope the company will expedite efforts to remove these connections so that the power supply can be stabilised.
“This will allow us to restore the public lighting for the many road users who use this route at night.”
A SESB spokesman said a preliminary check would be made to verify claims about the electricity pilferage taking place in this part of Telipok.
He said any unsanctioned connections which had been fashioned to the company’s overhead lines would be dismantled accordingly.
“Those caught stealing power run the risk of being slapped with a RM100,000 fine, under the Electricity Supply Act 1990,” he said.
“Offenders also face the possibility of having to serve a prison term of up to three years.
He cautioned the public about the negative consequences of making haphazard connections to the company’s electricity cables.
“On top of risking electrocution, the perpetrators might also cause our system to overload.
“This in turn could lead to a short circuit that might result in residential and business properties in the vicinity catching fire.”
Meanwhile, City Hall will periodically check on the condition of the streetlights on Lorong Hilltop and Lorong Gunung Ulu Merak 2, both in Luyang, as well as those near the Sri Kolombong Light Industrial Estate.
A sky-master was used to assist in efforts to replace the faulty components for some of the lights in the Hilltop area.
A spokesman for the agency’s Engineering Department said its electrical contractor had been asked to step up surveillance of the public lighting to ensure that the roads in these areas were properly illuminated at night.
He said a problem with five bulbs, ballasts and ignitors, as well as three photocells, was to blame for the unlit sections on both Luyang stretches.
“A sky-master was deployed to facilitate efforts to replace the faulty components,” he said.
“The contractor did a day-time test, at the time, to ensure that these amenities were coming on as they should.
“He also went back after dark to determine if these roads were adequately lit.”
In the case of the Kolombong commercial centre, the spokesman said an inspection was made of the lights near the building on the same day that City Hall learned that one of these amenities had toppled over and had encroached onto part of the road in the area.
“The contractor’s workers moved the fallen pole onto the pavement, before having a new light put up along this part of Lorong Sri Kolombong.
“They later repaired and reattached the wires, which had come away, with the help of the sky-master they had with them at the time.”
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