500,000 in Sabah face power cut

3-STATION INCIDENT: Recovery will take a month, says SESB official

KOTA KINABALU: Some 500,000 consumers in the state and Labuan are expected to experience power disruption that could last for a month after a series of incidents at three stations in Sepanggar here caused a 200 megawatt drop in supply.

Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) managing director Abdul Razak Sallim said following the incidents at the Independent Power Producer (IPP) stations, the company was forced to carry out load shedding to stabilise supply.

Razak said in the reports received by SESB, the first incident occurred at 8.08am yesterday, when the Ranhill Powertron I (IPP Teluk Salut) exploded.

The incident caused the station’s GT-22 power turbine compartment to malfunction.

“The power reduction caused by the explosion is 47.5 megawatt.

“Ranhill Powertron II (IPP Rugading) tripped at noon.

“This reduced 95 megawatt of supply,” he said at the SESB headquarters here.

Thirty-eight minutes after the second incident, he said the ARL Power Station (IPP Malawa) caught fire.

The incident caused a drop of 57.5 megawatt in supply.

Razak said restoration works were being carried out in stages, adding that a full recovery would take up to a month.

“Internal investigations are being carried out. The three IPPs are not under SESB’s jurisdiction.”

Firefighters were dispatched to the ARL Power Station after receiving a distress call at 12.43pm that a generator fuel tank had caught fire.

 - New Straits Times