KUCHING: A power outage that affected multiple areas here on Thursday (July 3) was caused by a third-party contractor's excavation works, which damaged two underground cables near Green Heights.
It was the latest of 33 recorded cases of electrical equipment damage attributed to third-party contractors involving estimated losses of almost RM330,000.
Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) said the outage, which occurred at 2.46pm, disrupted supply to parts of BDC, Stampin, Jalan Lapangan Terbang, Stutong, Batu Kawa, Jalan Arang, Third Mile, Jalan Keretapi, Sungai Maong, Jalan Green and Jalan Rock.
Several major commercial centres and essential facilities, including the Sarawak General Hospital, Timberland Hospital and KPJ Hospital, were also affected.
A technical team from SEB's operations and retail arm, Syarikat Sesco Bhd, restored supply via an alternate source at 2.58pm.
"Cable repair works then commenced and were completed by 6am the following day," SEB said in a statement on Monday (July 7).
It said the incident was part of a worrying trend of excavation-related damage to underground cables, as some contractors continued to operate near underground infrastructure without prior consultation.
"We have made ourselves available to assist contractors in planning their work safely, yet some continue to proceed without engaging us.
"Contractors must take greater responsibility to uphold public safety," Sesco western region general manager Effendy Syaiful Abdullah said.
"Such incidents not only disrupt essential services but pose serious safety hazards, including risks of electrocution and fire."
The statement added that contractors must comply with safety procedures and consult Sesco before undertaking any work in the vicinity of underground cables.
The public can report outages or suspicious activities near electrical infrastructure to SEB's customer care centre at 1300-88-3111, customercare@sarawakenergy.com, the SEB Cares mobile app and web portal, or virtual agent Carina.
