Cause of power outage: SEB urged to honour promise to make finding public

KUCHING: Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) is urged to honour its promise of making public the preliminary findings on the statewide power outage on June 27.

Batu Lintang assemblyman, See Chee How, in making the call yesterday said the detailed investigation, including interviews with households, commercial and industrial consumers, into the power failure should be opened to determine the extent of the damages and losses.

“The investigation must be thorough, transparent and accountable to Sarawakians and investors in the state as the impacts of the power outage are massive,” he said in a press statement here.

See, also state PKR vice chief, said the preliminary findings by SEB, Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd and private consulting firm Poyre Engineering Sdn Bhd to the Federal Finance Ministry “is most disappointing and unacceptable”.

He said that SEB chief executive officer Torstein Dale Sjotveit had promised a detailed investigation report by a third party would be completed and made public in two weeks.

“Now, after three weeks, both SEB and the third party have only completed a preliminary finding and they are submitting them to the Finance Ministry.

“Why to the federal ministry? Such an attempt is misplaced and it casts a long shadow of doubt whether Sarawakians will be kept in the dark as to the cause and consequences of the massive power outage.”

See asserted that making known the preliminary findings would enable affected consumers of various sectors to put forward their views and suggestions on further investigation by SEB and other parties.

The investigation should be participatory for the public, he said, adding that Sarawakians deserved to know the cause of the massive blackout.

It was also necessary for the investigation team to look into the losses and damages resulted from the power outage, he said.

“This is not the 70s or 80s when people could be brushed aside with a mere excuse that there is no provision in the ordinance and laws that require the power supply authority to compensate the consumers.”

He said the people demanded competency and responsibility from the authorities, hence urging secretary-general of the Finance Ministry Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah to make the preliminary findings public.- theborneopost