Some 3.89 million residents in Klang Valley are expected to face one week of water disruptions until Christmas Eve, with Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) standing firm on its maintenance works.

According to theSun, the maintenance works starting today at the TNB facility in Bukit Badong, Hulu Selangor, will affect three Sungai Selangor water treatment plants that supply water to 60 percent of residents in the Klang Valley.

A total of 814 locations in districts such as Petaling, Klang, Shah Alam, Gombak, Kuala Langat, Hulu Selangor, Kuala Selangor and Kuala Lumpur will suffer temporary water disruption during the maintenance period.

This is a rare occurrence, where water disruption is due to electrical works.

At a press conference yesterday, TNB chief corporate officer Roslan Ab Rahman was quoted by theSun as saying the works cannot be postponed, because further delay could lead to longer power outages in future.

"Physical inspections, including thermal scanning carried out on Dec 15 detected two hot spots that require immediate action to prevent any major damage to the equipment at the main intake substation.

"If the works are delayed again, there's a possibility that a breakdown can occur and repairs would then take as long as three weeks," he said.

Roslan also urged water authorities to take initiatives to upgrade their back-up power generators at all the water treatment plants to avoid disruptions during TNB's maintenance works in the future.

Currently, the generators do not have the capacity to provide electricity to the water plants, leading to the water disruption this week, he said.

Span blamed for delays

The press conference was called by TNB to address the unhappy residents who took to social media to voice their concern that they have to face the disruption so close to Christmas this weekend.

However, Roslan stressed that the substation needs immediate remedial works.

He said the repairs were initially scheduled for Sept 27, 2016, but was postponed several times following requests by Selangor water authorities due to "specific reasons".

"It has been planned for earlier but was postponed.

"If we continue postponing, there will be a risk of failure. The decision to postpone was not ours, but that of the National Water Services Commission (Span)," he said.

Roslan added the remedial works by TNB would only take about 16 hours beginning 8am on Dec 19, so the authorities should explain why water supply would be disrupted until Christmas Eve.

Yesterday, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok quoted a Span spokesperson as earlier saying the Dec 19 date requested by TNB was approved based on its data that showed lowest water consumption rate at the end of the year.

She urged TNB to postpone the maintenance in view of Christmas preparations.

Scheduled supply

The Star reported that the affected districts are grouped into two zones, which will receive water based on a schedule.

Zone One includes Aman Suria, Bukit Mayang Emas, Bukit OUG, Dataran Sunway PJU 5, Sections 4 to 11 in Kota Damansara, SS 20 to SS 26, Jalan Ipoh Batu 2 1/2 to Batu 5, Chan Sow Lin, Desa Pandan, Pandan Jaya, Sri Segambut, Teluk Pulai, Sijangkang Batu 7 to Batu 9, Perindustrian Pulau Indah Phases 1 and 2, Air Panas Setapak, Bandar Baru Selayang, Kampung Kemensah, Taman Keramat AU1 to AU5, PPR Sri Tioman 1 and 2, Taman Intan Baiduri as well as Wangsa Melawati.

Meanwhile, Zone Two includes Bukit Damansara, Bukit Kiara, Taman Sri Sinar and Sri Bintang, Medan Damansara, Bandar Bukit Tinggi 1 and 2, Jalan Meru Batu 1 to Batu 3, Jalan Kapar Batu 1 to Batu 9, Taman Bahagia, Taman Sentosa, Bandar Kinrara 1 to 3, Jalan Tasik Prima 1 to 5, PJU 3 and PJU 8, Section 11 to Section 22 Petaling Jaya, SS 1 to SS9A, Ampang Jaya and Batu Caves.

Water supply to both zones will be stopped starting from 8am on Dec 19 and water is expected to resume in areas under Zone One on Dec 20.

Water is expected to be cut starting Dec 21, at 9am for areas in Zone One and is expected to resume on Dec 23, at 4pm.

For Zone Two, water will resume on Dec 21, at 4pm and will be stopped two days later, starting from 9am.

Water tankers will provide relief water to affected zones that have no water supply due to the low level of water in the service reservoirs.

Consumers can request for relief water supply by sending a SMS 'TANKER name and Address' to 15300.

For details on the water supply recovery process and the affected areas of the two zones, visit www. syabas.com.my or 'Air Selangor' on Facebook.

See also: Use TNB's generators to avoid water cuts