Wilfred Yap – Blackout

suppadmin | January 17, 2014

SUPP Central Youth Secretary General Wilfred Yap hit out at SEB today over the recent power blackout that hit Kuching and Sri Aman Divisions where hundreds of thousands of people’s daily routine were affected.

Yap pointed out that the two blackouts took place in less than a week apart is neither forgivable nor tolerable. “This is even ironic given the fact that Sarawak is well known for its abundance of renewable energy and the state government has invested a huge sum of money into the development of hydropower plants”, he added.

“Our state government is selling affordable renewable energy to attract foreign investors and yet, we can’t even get this technical fault solved effectively. We have had some major power outage just last year, people and businesses suffered immensely because of that. Is this going to become a yearly event or a norm that the people have to endure?”

Wilfred Yap pointed out that it is crucial to have power supply that is both consistent and reliable in order to promote the state’s hydropower industries and attract foreign investors. While the state government’s focus is on attracting more foreign investments, he opined that since SEB is the company in charge of power supply, the company should put the interest of public users as one of their priorities as well.

“Impact of a major blackout of such magnitude is immense, it affects not only the everyday activities of the people, local businesses, schools, traffic users… etc. were in total chaos. Chinese New Year is fast approaching, SUPP Central Youth is demanding SEB to give priority in ensuring reliable and consistent power supply throughout the state. The people and business owners will not tolerate another major blackout, especially when everyone is busy preparing and celebrating the festivity.”

In view of that, Wilfred Yap is urging SEB to give equal focus on improving the standard of maintenance work on its existing network especially on the Engkilili 275kV substation, since the past few major blackouts in Kuching, Sri Aman and surrounding areas could be traced all the way back to the Engkilili substation.

“Not only that, I am also appealing to the state government to come out with a sustainable policy and formula so that those from the commercial sectors who suffered losses as a result of the blackout can be compensated accordingly.”