MIRI: An ongoing series of supply system reinforcement projects under the Miri system reinforcement plan including the new Niah extra high voltage (EHV) will improve reliability of supply to customers at Niah and its surrounding areas.
Sarawak Energy Vice President for Distribution Yusri Safri said the commissioning of the new Niah EHV substation and other reinforcement projects would improve supply reliability for customers and reduce interruptions.
“Since the beginning of this year, Niah and its surrounding areas recorded six supply interruption cases with four related to planned shutdowns of short duration for load transfer purposes.
“Two more cases were due to very bad weather and faulty equipment affecting areas from Suai to Bintulu,” he said in a statement yesterday (FEB 20).
He added that in the meantime, Sarawak Energy would do its best to step up efforts to reduce the risk of supply disruptions and improve response time to safely restore supply if an outage occurred.
“Having said this, we appeal for cooperation from the public, especially landowners, when it comes to overgrown vegetation affecting supply lines which is a common cause of supply interruptions.
“It is an on-going effort to check on, maintain and where necessary, replace any ageing equipment to enable the smooth operation of our facilities before Niah EHV comes online.
“We remain committed and are investing significantly to ensure supply reliability to our customers. To date, Sarawak Energy has spent more than RM20mil in reinforcement projects for Niah alone,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, the utility company in the same statement said that the reinforcement projects involved the laying of 33KV and 11KV overhead and underground supply lines to connect with the already completed 33KV Niah substation.
“Work is expected to be completed by June this year preceding the construction of the new RM185mil Niah EHV substation which will serve as an additional injection point for the area.
“The new injection point will shorten supply lines, facilitating switching operations in the event of a tripping and also lower vulnerability to outages due to external factors on long lines,” it explained, adding that the new substation was expected to be completed by 2026.
Sarawak Energy said Niah and its surrounding areas were currently supplied by the Similajau and Marudi EHV substations through long overhead supply lines spanning a total of 140KM which made these lines susceptible to disturbances causing tripping incidents.
“The Similajau EHV substation covers Suai and Niah areas through a 65KM long 33KV overhead lines while the Marudi Junction EHV substation supplies Bekenu, Bakong and Ladang Tiga through a 75KM long 33KV overhead lines,” it said.
As for the performance of these supply lines, it said that they were constantly monitored and a technical team was stationed permanently in Batu Niah to provide faster operational response to minimise the duration of interruptions, if any.
“Ongoing mitigation measures also include regular line inspections for overgrown vegetation to reduce the risk of interruptions. Other risks include transient fault, damage by third party contractors working along the stretch and wildlife intrusion among others.
“The technical team has intensified its trouble shooting process by conducting regular scanning of the overhead lines, timely maintenance of the equipment and communicating with landowners on overgrown vegetation and land clearing activities that may affect the supply lines.
“The team is also monitoring the Pan Borneo Highway construction activities near electrical facilities,” it said.
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 reports through Sarawak Energy mobile application SEBcares.
