SESB making efforts to deal with power outages in Sabah, Labuan

KOTA KINABALU: Illegal connection is believed to be the main cause of the low-voltage power disruptions in Sabah and Labuan.

Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd's (SESB) Chief Executive Officer Mohd Yaakob Jaafar said illegal connection accounted for 25 per cent of the total disruptions and would cause circuit problems, including electric shocks.

He also revealed that 35 per cent of medium-voltage power disruptions were caused by tree branches that came in contact with electrical conductors, 16 per cent due to animal intrusion, and 11 per cent caused by bad weather.

"As of 2021, almost 49 per cent of the 11kV medium voltage conductors in Sabah are the uninsulated type," he said in a statement.

He said because of this, the conductor was prone to malfunction and could easily cause power supply disruptions, especially during bad weather.

To solve this, Mohd Yaakob said SESB was aggressively upgrading the conductors involved and aimed to reduce between 30 per cent and 50 per cent by 2025.

However, Mohd Yaakob said the upgrading work cost millions, requires time and has to be carried out in stages.

"For short-term and immediate solutions, SESB is using a 'rentis management' concept where concessionaires are responsible for maintaining conductors in areas that are often affected by power outages such as Tuaran, Keningau, Kota Marudu and Ranau," he said.

Mohd Yaakob added other approaches included setting up a special task force to solve unique issues faced by particular areas.

He said an allocation of RM128 million until 2025 had been made to upgrade the affected conductors.

"Another RM170 million until 2025 has been allocated for other works including equipment and installations."

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