Repair work for Penang Bridge burnt cables to complete by June 25

GEORGE TOWN: The high voltage cable that caught fire at KM3.2 of the Penang Bridge on Feb 22 is expected to be fully repaired and back in operation by June 25.

Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) chief grid officer Datuk Husaini Husin said that the TNB's quick and continuous commitment with the cooperation from Malaysian Highway Authority and PLUS Malaysia Berhad (PLUS) has enabled the progress of the repair work to be ahead of the scheduled date on July 6.

He said that the repair work which started on March 4 involved the replacement of three high voltage cables from Bukit Tengah Main Intake Substation (PMU) to Bayan Mutiara for about 1km in length.

"Throughout the repair period, traffic flow at Penang Bridge has not been disrupted at all as TNB conducted repairs via sea route and the repair work also not affected the reliability and stability of the electricity supply to Penang," he said in a statement.

Husaini added that TNB uses boats and barges to transport equipment as well as spare parts, apart from carrying out the cable laying work completely using a barge.

He said that despite the ongoing Movement Control Order (MCO), the cable replacement work still continues by adhering to strict standard operating procedures (SOP) and upon getting approval from the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.

"TNB's priority is to repair the damaged cable so that our customers in Penang can continue to receive stable and reliable electricity supply, in line with our customer-centricity core value," he said.

He added that an investigation report of the incident is being prepared and would be finalised together with PLUS by next month.

-- BERNAMA