KOTA KINABALU, Sept 15 — Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SE) will implement three immediate measures to restore power supply to the six affected districts on the east coast after a transmission tower fell.
Its chief executive officer, Datuk Mohd Yaakob Jaafar, said the hours-long power outage in the east coast occurred around 5.05pm on Saturday, when their 275 kiloVolt (kV) Kolopis – Segaliud Line 1 and 2 – which provides around 260 megaWatts (mW) from the west to the east coast on the daily – had tripped.
He said SE experienced 242 mW load loss during this time, with an estimated 230,000 consumers affected by the blackout in six east coast districts, namely Sandakan, Lahad Datu, Kunak, Semporna, Beluran and Kinabatangan.
Around 3,000 complaints were received by SE throughout the incident.
This was following floods which hit the Penampang district the past week, which had also affected their Kolopis Main Entry Subtation (PMU) in Kampung Sarapung, Kolopis, which channels power from Kimanis and Sepanggar.
At around 7.05pm yesterday, a technical team from SE rushed to the PMU after being notified by their Load Dispatch Centre and tried to restart the line but failed, prompting them to look into the cause.
Mohd Yaakob said their team then detected disturbances in the two lines involving two towers – Tower 5 near the Kolopis PMU and Tower 9 in Kampung Guromboi, Moyog, following physical and aerial inspection.
He said Tower 9 had experienced soil erosion and a nearby landslide, and his team had placed a canvas at the scene to cover the erosion.
However, this was not the cause of the hours of power outages.
“Due to fallen trees and wet road conditions at night time, our team had difficulty entering these areas, which contributed a lot to delays in locating the root to the cause.
“But they found out that the power outages were caused by natural disaster – Tower 5 had fallen to the ground, which was why the lines had tripped.
“Similar incidents have occurred in the past, but this one was because heavy rain had caused a landslide, and the tower slid down,” he told a press conference at the Sabah Air terminal here Sunday.
To resolve the issue, he said SE has planned short-term steps, including conductor bridging to reroute power from Kimanis to Kolopis and Segaliud.
“This will be implemented within two days, after which consumers will be able to enjoy power supply.
“Around 70,000 consumers are expected to be affected by load shedding during this rectification of power.
“As of now, we have not been able to restore the line, but our power stations in Sandakan and Tawau have started operating again,” he said.
He said that another short-term measure implemented is setting up two emergency restoration systems (ERS) at the Tower 5 site, which will take around eight days to complete.
“But insyallah, during this period, there would be no rotational rationing or load shedding as the first step should already be enough to supply power to the East Coast,” he said.
As for permanent solutions, he said SE will build a new tower – one costs RM3 million each to construct – to replace the fallen tower after the ERS is set up.
“We expect this new tower to take at least three months to complete,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mohd Yaakob called for netizens to be patient and understanding as SE is working tirelessly to quickly resolve the issue.
He said their team of 50 personnel faces various challenges due to the natural disaster, noting that not only electricity supply but roads were also affected.
“We understand the community’s concern, but we also hope that they understand that we are doing our best,” he said. — The Borneo Post
