SANDAKAN: Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) is offering rewards to those who expose vandalism on SESB-owned cables.
SESB CEO Mohd Yaakob Jaafar said that in order to address the issue, which is getting more widespread, SESB requires the support of everybody.
“There is an increasing level of vandalism including thefts or attempts to steal SESB property, including electrical installations at SESB substations and underground connections.
“Metre tampering cases are on the rise. In 2021, there were 935 incidents reported, which represents a 98 per cent increase over the 473 cases in 2020.
“A total of 896 cases of metre tampering have been recorded as of August this year,” he said to the media, last Tuesday.
According to him, such irresponsible conduct can put the utility firm in jeopardy in addition to costing it millions of ringgit.
The amount of money lost due to metre tampering has also increased in 2022 with SESB suffering a loss of RM21 million, while a total of RM4 million has been lost as of August this year.
“A total of 29 cases of meter tampering has been brought to court,” he said.
On that note, he said SESB has approved the policy of giving reward to those who report meter tampering and illegal wiring connections.
“The reward will be one per cent from the amount lost by SESB due to meter tampering and illegal wiring connections,” he said.
Members of the public can contact SESB Zone/Area Managers via 088-282782, 088-282779 or 088-282778.
In addition, SESB has also mandated Authority Cards to SESB employees to ensure that only authorised SESB employees can access the installation of SESB meters.
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