Kota Kinabalu: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Haji Noor held an emergency meeting at Sri Gaya, Sunday, on the major power outage affecting Sabah’s east coast on Saturday (Sept 13).
Sabah Electricity Chief Operating Officer Ir. Mohd Yusmanizam Mohd Yusof, who is also the crisis commander overseeing the power restoration works said Hajiji was briefed that the outage was due to a collapsed Kolopis-Segaliud 275kV tower following a landslide in Kg Sarapung, Penampang.
The briefing was attended by State Secretary/State Disaster Management Committee Director Datuk Seri Sr Safar Untong and Sabah National Security Council (MKN) Director Datuk Yahya Sulaiman.
Yusmanizam said the Sabah Electricity crisis team is on the ground to implement the reconnection.
He was informed that with weather permitting, the power connection works could be completed within two days.
“I understand the precarious nature of the restoration works, and while we hoped it could be completed quickly, at the same time, I want them to exercise caution too,” he said.
Hajiji also instructed Sabah Electricity to keep the public informed on work progress and to constantly monitor situation on the ground due to prevailing bad weather.
Some 230,000 residents across six districts in the East Coast were left without power due to the incedent following severe weather conditions that have been battering the State’s West Coast for several days.
The tower, located in Kg Sarapung, Penampang, was dislodged from its original position following mudslides and landslides caused by the prolonged bad weather.
The affected areas include Sandakan, Lahad Datu, Kinabatangan, Kunak, Semporna and Beluran where residents have been experiencing power outages since the weekend.
Sabah Electricity Chief Executive Officer Datuk Mohd Yaakob Jaafar said technical teams worked through the night, trekking through jungle and hilly terrain for nearly seven hours before locating the source of the disruption at 1.03am.
“The damaged tower is crucial for our 275kV electrical grid system, which supplies 200MW of electricity to East Coast Sabah,” Yaakob said after conducting an aerial survey of the affected site.
Sabah Electricity has initiated immediate restoration work, including conductor bridging from the Kimanis line to the Segaliud line and constructing an emergency tower to replace the damaged structure.
The utility company acknowledged the cooperation received from various parties, including the State Government, Energy Commission of Sabah, National Security Council, Pejabat Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri, Sabah Air Aviation Sdn Bhd and other government departments and agencies.
