On Wednesday, the Deputy Minister for Energy, Telecommunications and Posts, Datuk Chan Kong Choy in a reply to the DAP MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Guan Eng, disclosed that an average of 277 power breakdowns a day were detected this year throughout Peninsular Malaysia between January and November.
This daily average figure would work out to over 100,000 power breakdowns for this year. Having over 100,000 power breakdowns this year, apart from the 17-hour nationwide power blackout in August, is not a record that any quality-driven utility company can feel proud.
I call on the TNB executive chairman, Datuk Dr. Ahmad Tajuddin Ali, to seriously consider the proposal I made in Parliament on Wednesday during the debate on the Ministry of Energy, Telecommunications and Posts that TNB should post a daily bulletin on the number of power breakdowns the previous day, stating the location, time, duration and reasons for the power disruption.
Such a daily bulletin on power disruptions the previous day would be an excellent tool to upgrade quality and productivity in TNB management, for it would mean subjecting the TNB to daily scrutiny and accountability on the quality of its utility management and services.
As former head of SIRM which had the responsibility of popularising quality consciousness and services in the economic sector, particularly the concepts of ISO 9000, Dr. Ahmad Tajuddin owes the Malaysian public an explanation if he is not prepared to adopt this proposal.
In his interview with a local daily on the occasion of his 100th day in office as Tenaga Nasional executive chairman, Dr. Ahmad Tajuddin said that customer requirements are quite straightforward - uninterrupted supply of quality electricity and that “For the moment, I have to accept that supply interruptions are bound to happen although I will not accept this situation forever”.
What Malaysian consumers, whether industry, business or households, are entitled to know is when quality of service of Tenaga Nasional could reach the stage where he need not say that “supply interruptions are bound to happen”.
For a start, when can Tenaga Nasional Bhd. aim to have less than 10,000 power disruptions in a year and when can this target be achieved?
(13/12/96)