TAWAU: A damaged Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd’s (SESB) transformer during cable upgrading works at the Kg Baru Pasir Putih substation was identified as the cause of a 17-hour power outage on Wednesday.
SESB CEO Ir. Ts. Mohd Yaakob Jaafar said the incident occurred while the original framework of the scheduled supply shutdown was implemented to enable the cable upgrade to be carried out.
However, he said, when the works were almost completed and during the re-switching the transformer was suddenly damaged.
“When it breaks down, we have to do replacement work which takes a long time... When it’s too late, we supply electricity to users through mobile gensets,” he said.
He said this when asked about the supply disruption incident when met at the SESB Management Engagement Programme Together with Sabah State UPPM Series II 2024 at one of the leading hotels, here, on Thursday.
Mohd Yaakob also acknowledged the incident as critical because it caused inconvenience to users and repairs were still being carried out on Thursday and expected to be completed on the same day.
In the meantime, he said, villagers who suffered damage to electrical equipment as a result of the incident could lodge a complaint to the SESB Tawau office along with documents and evidence of damage such as photographs, including police reports.
Kg Baru Pasir Putih which has around 800 houses faced a power outage starting at 10am on Wednesday and the supply was restored at about 3am through mobile gen-sets while the repairs continued.
The disruption resulted in the daily activities of residents being affected, including those running businesses from home.
Some parents to toddlers had to spend the night in their vehicles for air conditioning while some residents claimed their electrical equipment is broken.
