By Nur Ashikin Louis
LIMBANG, May 25: Temporary electricity interruption in several areas here due to faulty generators at the Limbang Power Station yesterday (May 24) have been resolved following the safe restoration of power at 5pm on the same day.
Sarawak Energy Berhad (Sarawak Energy) in a statement today disclosed that the faulty generators has led to supply instability in the district as other available generators had reached their maximum capacity, with the potential risk of not being able to cater for peak demand especially during hot weather.
Following that, customers in several areas in Limbang experienced temporary supply interruption during a load shedding operation affecting supply to several areas including Batu Danau up to the Tedungan Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex and Jalan Pandaruan up to Pandaruan CIQ.
“Load shedding is undertaken to prevent an overload and total outage in the power system during periods of very high electricity demand.
“The technical team is working around the clock to repair the damaged generator crankshaft, with repair work expected to be completed by the end of May. During this period, certain areas in Limbang will experience temporary supply interruption when the load demand exceeds the available generator capacity.
“While repair work is ongoing, our operations team is ready and will do our best to restore supply to the affected areas soonest possible, in the event of an interruption. The safety of the public and our on-site team is our top priority during these operations,” said Sarawak Energy regional manager for Northern Region, Tan Joo Kok.
Sarawak Energy had also deployed a 1 Megavolt amperes (MVA) mobile generator set from Miri to serve as back-up supply, with a team from Lawas on standby to assist.
“We are monitoring the situation closely to ensure continuous supply to the district and we appreciate the public’s kind understanding on this,” Tan added.
SEB revealed that plans to connect Limbang as part of the Northern Grid extension project to enhance reliability of supply are currently ongoing.
“When the Limbang Town Extra High Voltage 275/33/11kV substation is completed by the target date of 2023, Limbang will no longer depend on diesel generation but will be connected to Sarawak’s main power plants though the Grid.
“The new substation will be equipped with two units of 20/25 MVA transformers and Limbang’s distribution network will be reconfigured upon the substation’s completion to cater for the future load growth in the district,” the statement read.
For more information and updates on supply interruptions in Limbang, customers may call Sarawak Energy’s 24-hour Customer Care Centre at 1300-88-3111 or email to customercare@sarawakenergy.com. — DayakDaily
