KUALA LUMPUR: Power blackouts hit five Malaysian states on
Thursday, sending several cities, including Kuala Lumpur, into
semi-darkness.
Witnesses reported blackouts in Selangor, Malacca, Negri Sembilan,
Pahang and Johor states.
Several parts of the Klang Valley, including Putrajaya, were
affected by the power failure which occurred at about 12.30 pm,
eye-witnesses said. They added that areas like Damansara, Bangsar,
Hulu Klang, Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam in Selangor were hit by the
blackout.
Power was also down in Kuala Lumpur's 88-storey twin towers.
Malaysia's power distributor Tenaga Nasional Bhd said it had
reports of blackouts in parts of central Selangor state but did not
yet know of power failures in Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, city and Selangor police operations rooms reported
several locations in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and
Selangor were experiencing power outage, causing traffic lights at
intersections to stop functioning.
Tenaga Nasional staffers contacted by Bernama said the blackout
also affected key installations such as the KL International
Airport (KLIA) in Sepang.
A Malaysian stock exchange spokesman said the power back-up for its
computerised trading system is up and running and the system has
not been affected by the power failure.
Later Thursday, Tenaga said it was slowly restoring power.
"We are slowly getting supply back to parts of Selangor," a Tenaga
spokesman said.
"It happened at 12:27 pm (0427 GMT). We are still investigating the
real cause," the spokesman said.
He said the blackout could be due to a fault at the country's
largest coal-fired plant in Selangor.
Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy, speaking at a function in Kuala
Lumpur, said all ports and airports in the Klang Valley and
southern states affected by the power failure were able to operate
as usual because of their back-up systems.
The fast train service from KL Central to KLIA, however, was
affected as well as the light rail transit services, namely the
Putra and Star lines. - CNA
Wonder if PKL and PTP is affected???