KUCHING: Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) strongly urged contractors to check the routes of underground cables first before carrying out any excavation works.
SEB in a statement said that third party excavation remains one of the main causes of power outages in Sarawak and strongly urged contractors to check underground cable routes with its power utility arm before commencing work.
“The latest incident was on April 8 and it disrupted electricity supply to about 1,800 customers in Bintulu including Bintulu Hospital.
“A 33kv underground cable along Jalan Nyabau near Bintulu Hospital was damaged due to excavation works for a rural project by a third party. The outage also affected Bintulu Hospital,” SEB said in a statement.
SED received a report of the outage at 10.50am and supply to all the affected areas was fully restored within an hour through alternative feeders.
Power interruptions due to excavation works are not new in Bintulu.
“Up to today, we have recorded 59 outage cases caused by excavation works since 2016, amounting to RM400,000 in damage for Bintulu alone.
“For Sarawak as a whole, the damage caused had reached close to RM3 million with 352 cases recorded as at March this year,” said CEO of Syarikat SESCO Berhad, Lau Kim Swee, Sarawak Energy’s power utility arm.
“In most cases involving underground cables, it normally takes quite some time to locate the fault especially at night, which may delay restoration.
“This incident happened during the day which allows us to locate the fault quickly and the area also has alternative feeders which contributed to swift restoration of within one hour,” he added.
Lau also said that the damaged cables during excavation works also posed dangers to the workers and public within the vicinity.
“Despite constant reminders to contractors who work close to electrical installations and area with critical lines, this continues to happen.
“Hence, contractors are advised to check underground cable routes with us to make sure everything is safe and according to the guidelines, and not to just assume the location or depth of the underground cables.
“Taking these basic precautionary measures will avoid many unwanted incidents and keep the lights on for the people of Sarawak,” he stressed.
Lau added that this will also ensure the safety of the contractors and their workers as we want everybody to go home safely.
Urging contractors to work closely with Sarawak Energy, Lau also said that all these incidents could be avoided if contractors practiced proper planning, consultation and take precautionary measures.
He also added that Sarawak Energy personnel are also taking proactive initiatives to visit construction sites to give advising contractors to check before they excavate, and reminders are also issued to contractors as part of the preventive measures.
“Contractors who are found to have caused damage to electrical facilities will be required to pay for the repair works and may also be charged in court.
“Besides, a report will be sent to the Electrical Inspectorate Unit of the Ministry of Utilities and Department of Occupational Safety and Health for it to record,” Lau said.
Meanwhile, to avoid unnecessary inconvenience, contractors may contact Sarawak Energy’s technical team at 1300-88-3111 or email at customercare@sarawakenergy.com.my for any assistance to check on cable routes before excavation works commence.
