Lighting up the nation
WHILE many of us are celebrating the country’s 56th Merdeka, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) will be working day and night to ensure the entire nation is lit up.
The nation’s main electricity provider does not rest for even a day.
It runs seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and 365 days a year to keep the lights on for Malaysian households and businesses.
TNB has come a long way since its establishment on Sept 1, 1949, as the Central Electricity Board (CEB).
Over the years, the 64-year-old company remains strongly committed to powering the nation and spurring the country’s economic progress over the coming decades.
The company has grown from strength to strength and is currently the largest electricity utility company in Malaysia with a market capitalisation of RM48.8bil and a leading utility company in Asia.
The power company is listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia with almost RM87bil in assets.
Presently, the company has more than 33,500 employees serving an estimated 8.3 million customers in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Labuan.
TNB’s core businesses are in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity.
In Peninsular Malaysia, TNB supplies households and industry with electricity generated from six thermal stations and three major hydroelectric schemes.
It also manages and operates the National Grid which links power stations to the distribution network.
The company has a rich history, which is woven into the fabric of this country’s history.
In 1963, a Grid Control Centre was set up at the Connaught Bridge Power Station.
Its main responsibility was to co-ordinate electricity generation and control of the grid network of 64kV to 132kV.
The CEB’s first Malaysian general manager, Raja Zainal Raja Sulaiman, was appointed in 1964 when J. Sharples retired. Another milestone was also achieved in the same year when the CEB hired its first woman engineer, Maimunah Suleiman, who would later become its first female general manager.
Subsequently, on June 22, 1965, CEB was renamed Lembaga Letrik Negara (LLN) and the first computer system in the country – an IBM 1400 mainframe with 80,000kb memory – was commissioned in 1966 at its headquarters in Jalan Bangsar.
At that time, it was the first government department to go hightech with a computer system.
A decade later in 1976, a training institute, the Institut Latihan Sultan Ahmad Shah, was set up.
In the same year, the first grid connection was made from the west coast to the east coast supplying power to Kuantan and Pekan.
In 1978, the National Load Despatch Centre was established and was officially opened by then Prime Minister Tun Hussein Onn.
On Sept 1, 1990, NEB was corporatised and changed its name to the present TNB. Tan Sri Ani Arope was appointed chairman for two years.
TNB is no longer just a domestic champion.
The company made its first venture abroad with the construction of a 235MW plant in Pakistan’s Sindh province in 2001, via subsidiary Liberty Power Ltd.
Besides Pakistan, the company is tapping into opportunities available overseas by making inroads into emerging markets, focusing on the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa regions.
More recently, TNB became the first government-linked company to extend the age of service to 60 years old when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak visited the company on Sept 3, 2012.
This year, the power giant embarked on the TNB Transformation Programme as part of its aspiration to become a domestic market leader and a regional champion.
To achieve its regional aspirations, the company faces several challenges.
The need to acquire more skills in order to compete abroad is one and the need to acquire more assets in order to realise its mission to be a global champion is another.
TNB will continue to power up the nation as it has been entrusted to ever since its formation.
The company will continue to be here in the years to come and help the country in its march towards growth and progress.
Happy 56th Merdeka Day!