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MP demands probe on power outage in JB
Published:  Dec 17, 2017 3:17 PM
Updated: Dec 18, 2017 11:45 AM

Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong has called for an investigation on a power outage in Johor Bahru that began on Thursday, which he said has lasted more than 72 hours.

According to Liew (photo), many families have suffered and businesses incurred losses due to the outage.

He added that the government, particularly the Energy Commission, needs to be upfront about the cause of the disruption, and direct power provider Tenaga Nasional Bhd to compensate the people for losses sustained.

“While southern Johor is undergoing rapid development especially large numbers of residential, commercial and industrial projects in Iskandar Malaysia, the issues of energy and water security must be given top priority in development planning and execution.

“Ordinary families, small and large businesses alike suffer and incur losses when we were hit by water cuts and now, power outages,” he said in a statement today.

“Needless to say, the confidence of local and international investors will take a hit following the mishaps.

“It is therefore crucial for the government to be upfront about the causes of the breakdown and explain the subsequent remedial steps to the public to stop further erosion of public confidence,” he added.

Liew urged that the Energy Commission conduct an investigation and make its findings public as soon as possible.

In a Facebook post on Dec 12, TNB stated there had been an outage in Johor Bahru and promised to restore power within 20 hours.

Areas affected included Bukit Indah, Aeon Bukit Indah, Horizon Hills, Granada Hotel, Nusa Idaman, and part of Taman Ungku Tun Aminah.

However, the restoration works took longer than expected.

On Dec 15, TNB issued a statement saying that power would be fully restored by noon on the following day at the latest.

The statement also noted that normal electricity supply would return to customers who had received the provider’s 112 mobile generators, or who were using their own.

According to TNB, almost half the electrical supply was restored within 10 minutes of the outage at 10.45am on Dec 12, and that most of the power had been restored in the first four hours.

The cause of the disruption was said to be due to damage to 33 kilovolt high-voltage installations at the Perling transmission main intake.

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