H
Hanzo Kattori
Guest
Friday January 28, 2011
Power breakdown in Kulim after cable theft
KULIM: The Kulim district suffered a power breakdown after thieves cut away the main 33kV cables on a bridge spanning over a river here. The breakdown, from 1pm to 4.41pm on Wednesday, affected Lunas, Padang Serai, Kulim, Taman Mahsuri, the Kulim-Butterworth Expressway rest and recreation area, Taman Sentosa, Taman Sutera Indah and Taman Makmur, including the Taman Makmur Industrial Area, said Kedah Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) in a statement yesterday.
It said thieves cut the cables about 1.4km from the main entry substation at Guthrie that was connected to the main distribution substation for Taman Makmur, Lunas. The power disruption caused 101 substations to be cut off, affecting some 15,000 domestic, commercial and industrial users, while the overall load lost was 11.5MW, it added.
TNB said supply was restored in stages from other sources until the situation was back to normal. In Tanah Merah, about 140km-long telecommunication copper cables costing RM5mil were stolen last year compared with the previous year where 128km-long cables worth RM4.34mil were stolen.
Kelantan Telekom Malaysia Berhad general manager Abdul Rashid Che Othman said 948 cases were reported in the state last year. “The thefts were rampant in the Pasir Mas and Tumpat districts as they are near the border with Thailand,” he said, adding that he did not rule out that the cables were sold in the neighbouring country as they fetched higher prices.
Kelantan was ranked third in cable theft after Perak and Selangor, which recorded 2,800 and 1,800 cases, respectively, he told reporters. — Bernama
