NEWS & UPDATES

Sarawak Energy to Penalise the Contractor Responsible for the Damages

KUCHING, 9th JUNE 2018, Saturday: A 33kV underground cable at Selangau-Mukah junction (part of Pan Borneo construction site) was damaged due to an excavation work causing supply interruption at around 8am today, leaving more than 500 customers in Jalan Sipiring, Kemena and Ulu Sungai Arip without supply. Supply was restored at 3pm through Tatau supply line while repair works is still ongoing. Due to the extensive damage, works is estimated to complete only by tomorrow.

Sarawak Energy’s operations and retail arm, Syarikat SESCO Berhad (SESCO) is very concerned with the recurring excavation-related outages especially near Pan Borneo construction sites that have interrupted supply to many customers.

“We have sent our technicians to patrol the site regularly and warned the contractors working near our facilities and yet outage like this still happened,” said Mr. Hung Sing Ee, Acting Regional Manager for Central Region.

In Selangau alone, since the beginning of the Pan Borneo project in 2017 there have been 22 excavation related cases that resulted in supply interruptions.

SESCO Sibu regional teams have made numerous engagements with the contractors, issued warnings and imposed penalties but the situation persists.

SESCO Chief Executive Officer Lau Kim Swee (刘金瑞) said, "These unnecessary incidences can be avoided if the contractors check the cable routes with Sarawak Energy first before carrying out their work. Supplying power to our customers is our main priority but the safety of the contractors working close to our live cables and installations is also a concern."

"Safety is always a priority in Sarawak Energy and we do not want anybody to get hurt including third-party contractors. At the end of the day, we want to make sure that everybody goes home safely,” said Lau.

Lau also advises the contractors to never assume the location or depth of the underground cables and always check the cable routes to ensure it is safe to work.

Since 2016, Sarawak Energy has recorded 135 cases of third party excavation works damaging underground cables and other connected facilities. These incidents have incurred more than RM1 million in damages and caused inconveniences to the customers.

Contractors can contact Sarawak Energy technical team at 1300-88-3111 or email at customercare@sarawakenergy.com.my to ensure the safety of their worksite.

The damaged 33kV underground cable near the Selangau-Mukah junction caused the loss of supply to more than 500 customers in Jalan Sipiring, Kemena and Ulu Sungai Arip.

The construction site at Selangau-Mukah junction.  To-date there have been 22 excavation related cases in Selangau since the start of Pan Borneo Highway construction