Supply Act and TNB’s help could have averted water cuts

COMMENT Four million Klang Valley residents who looked up to Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) to resolve the water woes on the eve of the Christmas season were let down.

Even TNB’s s chairperson Leo Moggie, who celebrates Christmas, was not spared when TNB could have extended a helping hand as the government’s Supply Act states that it must provide continuous electricity supply.

According to TNB, the failure for continuous supply was because their generator’s system is based on 11kV electrical power supply while the water treatment plants is based on 6.6kV.

“There was an issue of incompatibility for the mobile generators to provide electricity to the water treatment plants,” said the senior general manager of corporate affairs and communications, Mohd Aminuddin Mohd Amin, in reply to Malaysiankini’s query on why TNB could not help.

A consumer group leader clarified the Electricity Supply Act 1990 provides for supply of voltages at even 11kV and 6.6 kV, and when TNB was asked in written questions about such provisions, it declined to answer further on incompatibility.

The issue of voltage incompatibility can be resolved by using appropriately sized transformers and these are readily available in the market, according to electrical engineering experts who had once served in TNB.

TNB has generating sets and systems in other states supplying at 11kV and 6.6kV. Perak River Hydro is at 6.6kV in some places and in Johor these electrical generator sets are available. It is also available from the private sector.

Amongst others, an electrical engineering professor added that the maintenance work was in TNB’s substation and it should have been done proactively before breakdown signs start appearing in the TNB substation at the site. Agreed, the dates were postponed and it is not justified in the wake of new facts on TNB’s responsibility when it had all the infrastructure.

According to a former TNB engineer, TNB’s Repair and Maintenance Sdn Bhd (Remaco) could have carried out any modifications to make it compatible

One of Remaco’s services is to align all makes of generators and aligning the electrical generator sets (gensets) to supply to 6.6 kV or any other configurations.

Now the public are asking which agency shirked the responsibility of getting the appropriate equipment for continuous water supply?

Surprisingly, on Dec 18, TNB’s chief corporate officer Roslan Ab Rahman claimed that water authorities must take the initiative to upgrade their back-up gensets in order to avoid water supply disruption for electrical maintenance works in the future at the plants.

Another question is - did the National Water Commission (Span) play its role in ensuring water supply?

“Yes. Span had requested TNB to provide the mobile generator sets to generate power to the water treatment plant. However, the feedback given by TNB is that the mobile generating sets are incompatible with the water treatment plant voltage requirement,” said Span’s corporate communications and consumers affairs director Hisyam Samad in a written reply.

TNB as a public listed company with its engineering expertise and millions spent on corporate social responsibility was seen as allegedly not taking any initiative to help Air Selangor and Syabas. Was it Selangor that was being difficult?