LAHAD DATU, Sept 5 — The achievement of electricity supply in the South-east Zone of Sabah shows an encouraging performance with a double-digit record in the System Average Interruption Duration Index (Saidi).
Chairman of Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB), Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau, said that the zone which includes Lahad Datu, Kota Kinabatangan and Semporna showed a significant reduction in the rate of disruptions within three years.
“Lahad Datu recorded a Saidi of 42.77 minutes per customer per year this year compared to 106.77 in 2022 and 104.51 minutes per customer per year in 2023.
“Even in some areas such as the Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) record a single-digit Saidi which is below 10 minutes per customer per year,” he said in a statement in conjunction with his four-day working visit to SESB South-east and South Zones.
According to him, the Saidi rate of electricity supply in Kota Kinabatangan this year is 53.23 minutes per customer per year, which is a much better performance compared to the previous two years.
“In 2022 and 2023, Saidi in the district will be 94.15 and 169.75 minutes per customer per year respectively.
“Kunak also recorded a drastic reduction in electricity interruption with a Saidi rate of 30.17 minutes per customer per year.
“In 2022 this district recorded 66.57 and 75.78 minutes last year,” explained the Tuaran Member of Parliament.
He said the performance of the three districts in the South-east Zone is almost the same as the rate of electricity supply in Peninsular Malaysia which also recorded only two-digit Saidi which is 46.10 minutes per customer per year in 2023 and 45.06 in 2022.
“I congratulate all SESB staff in the South-east Zone for this achievement.
“Of course this achievement does not come easily but with effort and hard work day and night,” he said.
Madius also informed that among the causes of electricity interruptions were illegal connections that caused damage due to overloading of the conductors and fuses in the distribution fuse box at the electric substation as well as vegetation interference to the uncoated cable.
“In the South-east Zone, 60 per cent of Saidi is caused by stealing electricity activities.
“I personally inspected a squatter housing in Kampung Puyut, Lahad Datu and then made a police report for them to investigate and identify the culprits.
“We hope that immediate action will be taken by the authorities to investigate, arrest and prosecute all those involved in this criminal activity,” added Madius. — The Borneo Post
