TNB Substation Woes

Delay in obtaining utility services upon completion of physical works is not an uncommon scenario in our construction industry. It may be due to several factors such as ambiguous scope of contract, change in authority requirements during construction or just plain bureaucracy.

In the absence of expressed provision in the contract for the Main Contractor to secure power supply, their obligation is limited to the completion of the TNB building provided that the Testing & Commissioning can be achieved using other means i.e. gen- set, etc.

If the Testing & Commissioning can only be properly achieved using a stable power supply via an energized TNB substation, the Main Contractor is obliged to have it completed within 'reasonable' time, i.e. 6 months or any period before completion as normally expected of the service provider. In such case, delay by the service provider beyond the 'reasonable' energizing period can be regarded as an act of prevention by the service provider and would make the MC eligible for EOT under clause 23.8q (PAM06).

Another prudent approach is to allow sectional completion for the TNB substation to ensure the substation is completed ahead of time, allowing reasonable time for the TNB to energise before the project completion.

This approach could also be applied to other services such as water supply and telecom to separate the contractor’s contractual obligation from the service provider’s time consuming procedures