TONGOD: Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd is urged to deploy additional mobile generator sets to three secondary boarding schools in Tongod following damage to two main transformers in the district last week.
Kuamut Assemblyman Datuk Masiung Banah said the utility company should urgently provide sufficient electricity to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Tongod, SMK Penangah and SMK Entilibon, where hostel buildings have been left without proper lighting at night.
He said boarding students had been forced to use candles to revise their lessons, particularly as their examinations approach.
Masiung said the power disruption had affected students preparing for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examinations, which are scheduled to begin on Nov 26.
“I have received complaints from teachers and parents that students have had to revise their schoolwork by candlelight in hostels and at home since last week due to the power outage.
“I urge Sabah Electricity management to increase the number of mobile generator sets at the three schools to help SPM and STPM candidates study and revise their lessons,” he said in a statement, Thursday.
Masiung said four mobile generator sets with a combined capacity of 2,000kW had been deployed to provide temporary electricity supply in Tongod, but the available power remained insufficient, disrupting educational activities at the three schools.
He said he had been informed by Sabah Electricity’s Telupid office that an 11/33kW transformer supplying electricity to Tongod had been damaged since last week.
Masiung said he contacted the utility company’s Telupid office on Wednesday to seek further clarification and urged it to deploy additional generator sets to the three schools while repairs to the main transformers were being carried out.
Meanwhile, Community Development Officer (PPM) Tokyo Hasim Omar said electricity supply in the district had been frequently disrupted since last month, affecting administrative operations at several government departments.
He said the transformer supplying electricity to Tongod could be ageing and operating beyond its capacity as the number of users continued to increase.
Tokyo urged Sabah Electricity to replace the transformer with a new unit of higher capacity to meet growing demand from government buildings and private homes in the district.
