- ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE / The Star
KOTA KINABALU: Utility company Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) has been told to brief the state Cabinet on the statewide power failure for the past two consecutive days, says Datuk Mohd Ariffin Mohd Arif (pic).
The Sabah Science, Technology and Innovation Minister said the SESB had given an initial explanation over the power disruptions but its top boss was slated to further brief the government on the issue.
“Their general manager is supposed to brief the Cabinet on the matter soon,” he said after launching a reading event at the Penampang state library near here on Thursday (May 18).
“The relevant minister has also followed up on the issue and we are in the midst of finding the best solution to the problem,” he added.
Over the past two days from Tuesday (May 16), consumers in Sabah and Labuan had to endure hours-long blackouts.
After a massive power outage on Tuesday, which left people in parts of the Sabah capital and west coast area without any electricity for up to five hours, consumers experienced a second round of power failure in many areas in Kota Kinabalu, Penampang and Putatan around 6pm on Wednesday (May 17).
The SESB, in a statement on its Facebook page, said that they were facing technical problems with high voltage power lines.
It added that measures were being taken to restore power supply in stages to affected locations.
Due to the power outage on Wednesday, many motorists were caught in traffic jams in different parts of the city here and in Penampang as traffic lights were not working.
Social media also had claims that people were stuck briefly in lifts at a mall while the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) here had to switch to generators as elevators could not be used.
