KUCHING: Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How has called on Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem to demand a detailed report on the turbines at Murum Dam from Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) and the Ministry of Public Utilities.
See said this was in regards to the confidential assessment carried out by a Norwegian consultancy company, Norconsult, which concluded that the “turbine runners are not suitable for installation and operation” and the defects might lead to possible catastrophic breakdowns.
According to him, the confidential report also pointed out that the turbine runners contained cracks and pores and the quality of welding and grinding was poor.
“The assessment report stated that the defects are located in ‘high stress areas’ and that the ‘defects could likely be the starting point for fatigue cracks’ which in turn could lead to small or catastrophic breakdowns,” he cautioned.
In view of this, See, who is also state PKR vice chairman, said the state government must take the security and economic threats posed by the possible breakdown of Murum Dam seriously.
“They must be fully aware of the extent of the interruption it may pose to dependent industries at Samalaju and how it may affect the state power grid.
“SEB must also recognise the potential risks of breakdowns and power disruption and identify mitigating measures.”
See also reminded Adenan that SEB and the Ministry of Public Utilities had not disputed the findings of the company.
“Instead, SEB, through its chief executive officer Datuk Torstein Dale Sjotveit, merely downplayed their statement by saying that ‘the problems found on the turbine runner are rectifiable’ and the Murum Dam will be ‘completely safe’”.
“The silence of the Minister of Public Utilities is disquieting.” See said.
He further explained that it was controversial for SEB to undertake and perform the potentially contentious repair works at the installed turbines in an attempt to cover up the risks.
“Torstein had disclosed that its dam building contractor Three Gorges Development Company was asked to carry out repairs at the site in order to keep commissioning schedule on track, a move that is considered to compromise the workers’ safety.”
On a related matter, See once again reminded Adenan that SEB was yet to fulfil its promise of making a public disclosure on the investigations into the statewide blackout on June 26 last year, which caused damages to industrial, commercial and domestic consumers.