Power cables caught fire on Penang Bridge - Power distruption in Penang caused traffic jam

Power cable fire on Penang bridge causes massive traffic jam (Updated)
By DERRICK VINESH and TAN SIN CHOW

BUTTERWORTH: Three power cables caught fire on the Penang Bridge, causing massive traffic jams on both sides of the bridge that stretched several kilometers.

The 10.40am fire at km1.5 of the island-bound stretch also caused a brief power disruption on the island, especially in the Bayan Lepas area.

The bumper-to-bumper crawl stretched several kilometers on both sides of the bridge.

Black smoke was be seen billowing at the stretch where the cables were located under the bridge.

The fire was put out some five hours later at about 3.20pm.

State Public Works, Utilities and Transportation Committee chairman Lim Hock Seng said TNB switched to an alternative power source to restore power supply within five minutes.

“Necessary action is also being taken to determine the cable fault and to have it repaired as soon as possible,” he said Saturday.

Lim said he believed the incident was not due to human error, as the cable was located under the bridge.

Meanwhile, the traffic jam on the bridge caused many to turn to the ferries.

A ferry terminal spokesperson said both terminals on the island and mainland had seen a queue starting about 11am.

As at 3.40pm, the queues stretched as far as 1.5km from the terminals.

“We have six ferries operating. The ferries will travel slower during low tide,” the spokesperson said.

Credits to and source taken from: http://www.thestar.com.my/

Gridlock on Penang Bridge
By TAN SIN CHOW, DERRICK VINESH and WINNIE YEOH
north@thestar.com.my

GEORGE TOWN: Three Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) power cables caught fire on the Penang Bridge, causing a massive traffic jam.

The jam on both sides of the bridge, leading to the city and Butterworth, eased only after more than seven hours.

The 10am fire, which occurred some 2km away from the Prai toll plaza, also caused a two-minute power disruption in parts of Bayan Baru, Gelugor and the city yesterday.

Bumper-to-bumper crawl: Butterworth-bound traffic were stuck in a long jam on the Penang Bridge after three power cables on the bridge caught fire yesterday. — Photo courtesy of the Police Air Wing

The fire was only put out at 3.56pm.

At the height of the jam, the bumper-to-bumper crawl stretched up to at least 10km on both sides of the bridge.

TNB vice-president (transmission) Rozimi Remeli said the damaged cables supplied power from the Bukit Tengah sub-station on the mainland to two sub-stations in Gelugor and Bayan Baru.

Rozimi assured Penangites there would be no recurrence of the 1995 massive blackout on the island which lasted 10 days.

“Our officers are still trying to ascertain how the cables caught fire,” he said when met at the scene.

He said TNB would schedule repair work during off-peak hours.

‘Snowy’ day in Penang: The Penang Bridge covered in a layer of ‘snow’, which is actually foam from carbon dioxide sprayed by firemen to prevent a fire from spreading. Thick smoke was billowing from under the bridge after three power cables caught fire at about 10am yesterday. The fire caused massive traffic jams on the bridge. — GOH GAIK LEE / The Star

“We do not want to cause inconvenience to motorists during the festive season.

“Only one lane on each side will be closed when we carry out repairs,” he said.

Irene Lee, 48, who was heading back from Seberang Jaya to her home in Green Lane on the island said she was caught in a jam for more than an hour.

Office assistant Rachel Koay, 24, said she thought the jam would have eased when she decided to go home to Bukit Mertajam.

Power cable fire on Penang Pbridge causes massive traffic jam video clips

“I got on the bridge at about 3.30pm and only reached the toll plaza some 90 minutes later,” she said.

Engineer Thomas Chen, 27, who was going back to his home in Sungai Petani, said he decided to take the ferry after learning about the massive jam from his friends.