Shorter power cuts in Iskandar

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Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, accompanied by TNB chief executive officer Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh (right), taking a tour of the new main intake substation after the launch of TNB’s IM10 plan in Pasir Gudang yesterday.

PASIR GUDANG: A multi-million-ringgit plan by Tenaga Nasional Bhd to upgrade its infrastructure in south Johor will reduce the duration of power interruptions in Iskandar Malaysia.

The plan, known as Iskandar Malaysia 10 or IM10, will aim to reduce the System Average Interruption Duration Index (Saidi) in south Johor to less than 10 minutes by 2015.

Saidi is the internationally recognised system to measure how many minutes a utility customer experiences power interruptions in a year.

The Saidi for south Johor last year was 111 minutes.

Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said ongoing works in the first phase of IM10 will cost RM300 million until its completion in the end of next year.

The first of four phases covers eight "supercritical" locations where disruptions occur the most -- Johor Baru City Centre, Pasir Gudang, Tampoi/Larkin, Tebrau, Gelang Patah/Bukit Indah, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah/Mutiara Rini, Seri Alam and Johor Jaya/Desa Cemerlang.

Ghani said the more efficient electricity supply will benefit the 550,000 consumers in Iskandar Malaysia who use up to 1,400 megawatts of power.

"These consumers represent 60 per cent of the overall electricity consumption in Johor.

"The project is expected to spur economic and business growth in Iskandar Malaysia as a major economic corridor in Johor.

"It is also part of the Economic Transformation Programme," he said at the launch of IM10 at the Pasir Gudang town centre main intake substation here yesterday.

Also present were TNB chief executive officer Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh, state TNB general manager Datuk Mohd Aminuddin Mohd Amin, state speaker Datuk Mohd Ali Hassan and state International Trade and Industry, Energy, Water, Communication and Environment Committee chairman Tan Kok Hong.

The IM10 is part of the Electricty Blueprint of Iskandar Malaysia, and follows a call by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in March last year for TNB to improve its supply reliability in the southern growth corridor.

Among the steps taken in IM10 is a 10-year plan to standardise the voltages of 945 substations from 6.6kV to 11kV, 2,441 substations from 22kV to 11kV and replacing another 5,160km of problematic cables.

Another RM323 million will be spent in the next two years to build five main intake substations and 20 main distribution substations.

A 40-member team comprising engineers and others have been spearheading the work in IM10.