MIRI: Construction of Batu Niah 33kV substation will be completed in 2020 and the Bunut and Batu Niah Extra High Voltage substations by 2025. This was disclosed by Regional Manager for Northern Region Tan Joo Kok in a press statement yesterday.
The reliability of power supply to Batu Niah and its surrounding areas is expected to improve greatly with the completion of those substations. In the meantime, Sarawak Energy is closely monitoring the 110km span of overhead lines supplying power to BatuNiah to mitigate external factors that could cause tripping incidents along the very long lines.
“Ongoing mitigation measures to reduce the risk of interruptions include regular line inspections for overgrown vegetation and early detection of line faults,” Tan said. Sarawak Energy also organises engagements with the contractors working along the Pan Borneo Highway to ensure safe work practices near the lines to avoid incidents that could damage the lines and affect supply to customers at the surrounding areas. “The long stretch of lines supplying to BatuNiah is likely to be affected whenever the team needs to attend to technical cases or maintenance along that supply route.
“For safety purposes, any works along the lines require the lines to be switched off before the technical team can start work. “Immediate measures in the next six months are to install more remote switches to speed up restoration and to rearrange circuit to improve its reliability,” he added.
Meanwhile, SEB have a team stationed permanently in Batu Niah to provide faster operational response for technical matters along the lines and to minimise the duration of interruptions, if any.
Customers are advised to contact Sarawak Energy 24-hour customer service centre at 1300-88-3111 immediately when faced with supply interruptions to minimise the interruption period. Customers can also lodge the report through Sarawak Energy mobile application SEBcares.
