SEB stabilises slanted transmission tower caused by highway construction works
MIRI: Sarawak Energy Berhad ( SEB) has taken all necessary measures to secure and stabilise a slanted 132kV Tudan-Miri Airport transmission tower located along Miri Bypass road, caused by Pan Borneo Highway construction works.
In a statement yesterday, SEB said its transmission team discovered the slanted tower during a routine inspection patrol last Friday and immediately instructed the Pan Borneo contractor to cease works near the tower.
“Preliminary assessment indicates that the failure to the existing tower foundation was due to excessive earth stockpile materials placed near to the tower. It is suspected that the pile supporting the tower’s foundation was damaged, compromising the integrity of the supporting system, leading the tower to tilt,” it stated.
SEB, along with Lebuhraya Borneo Utara Sdn Bhd ( LBU), immediately engaged surveyors to further evaluate the condition of the tower’s foundation and its surrounding ground conditions.
At the same time, SEB’s technical teams were mobilised to the site to install temporary stabilising stay wires to secure the tower from tilting further.
The works, which commenced Saturday, was completed yesterday with eight stay wires installed to stabilise and secure the tower.
The Tudan- Miri Airport transmission lines is the main supply injection point to the southern part of Miri, supplying Miri airport, Lambir, Luak, Taman Tunku and Miri Hospital.
Any tripping to the lines will cause interruption of power supply to the areas.
“As a permanent solution, Sarawak Energy will have to construct a new tower foundation and erect a new tower, to avoid the risk of recurrence.
“For the installation of new tower, we will have to shut down the Tudan-Miri Airport lines for three weeks. During the shutdown, the load for the southern part of Miri will be transferred to Marudi Junction injection point.
“There will be a risk of no contingency for supply injection point to the southern part of Miri should there be any fault to the system.”
The statement added that SEB will take all the necessary measures to ensure disruptions during the shutdown period are minimised through comprehensive preparations before the works commence.
“At the same time, our team will be on standby to ensure fast restoration especially to critical areas in the case of unavoidable interruptions,” added Sarawak Energy group chief operating officer Lu Yew Hung.
Despite frequent engagements and awareness campaigns to inform contractors of the need to adhere to safety measures when working near electrical facilities and infrastructure, many contractors are still ignoring the advice and take safety lightly.
There are incidents where contractors still damage the cables even after engagements and safety briefing at project sites.
Based on SEB records for 2018, there are about 10 cases of unsafe acts damaging electrical facilities happening every month, with some of the cases causing supply interruptions to customers.