The Kuala Lumpur High Court has ordered Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) to pay highway concessionaire Projek Lebuhraya Usahasama Bhd (Plus) RM10.52 million over a fire beneath the Penang Bridge in February 2021.
Justice Ahmad Shahrir Salleh, in a judgement delivered on 16 September 2026, found that the fire was caused by electrical arcing originating from pre-existing mechanical damage to a high-voltage cable owned and maintained by TNB, Malaysiakini reported.
The fire broke out near Pier 52E at about 4.20pm on 22 February 2021, damaging structural beams beneath the bridge and forcing Plus to carry out immediate and subsequent repair works. A second rekindled fire occurred the following morning.
At the centre of the dispute were competing expert theories on what caused the blaze. Plus relied on fire and explosion investigator Anand Ghnavello, certified by the National Association of Fire Investigators in the United States, who testified that the fire was likely initiated by electrical arcing in the blue-phase cable of Circuit 2 caused by pre-existing mechanical damage, The Edge Malaysia reported.
TNB engaged electrical engineer Dr Tan Yoke Lin, who argued that a discarded cigarette fell through a broken scupper drain downpipe and ignited accumulated rubbish on the tunnel floor. The court rejected this theory, describing it as speculative and noting that it required a lit cigarette to survive a fall through a narrow drain into an open-sea environment.
The judge drew an adverse inference against TNB for failing to produce its maintenance guidelines, historical cable-testing data, and photographs of abnormalities recorded during routine inspections. TNB also failed to call the subcontractors responsible for cleaning and inspecting the tunnel.
“For these reasons, this court finds that the fire incident was caused by electrical arcing. That arcing originated from pre-existing mechanical damage to the blue phase cable,” said Ahmad Shahrir in his judgment.
“TNB breached both its common law duty of care and its statutory duty under section 33A of the ESA 1990, by failing to detect and repair that damage. This court further finds that this breach caused the fire incident and the loss that followed from it.”
The RM10.52 million award comprises four heads: RM9.69 million for structural repair works carried out by Edgenta Infrastructure Services Sdn Bhd, RM660,520.80 for structural assessment and remedial design by JK Bersatu Sdn Bhd, RM114,731.22 for investigating the fire by Forensic Services (M) Sdn Bhd, and RM50,000 for a discovery application.
TNB must also pay five percent annual interest from the date of the fire until the judgment date, with interest continuing at the same rate until full settlement. Plus was awarded another RM400,000 in legal costs.
The court, however, rejected Plus’ claim for exemplary damages, finding that TNB’s conduct amounted to a sustained and culpable failure of detection and maintenance but did not demonstrate malice, vindictiveness or deliberate disregard of Plus’ rights.
Plus was represented by Raja Eileen Soraya Raja Aman, Joshua Chong Wan Ken, Melanie Lim Sheng Ning, and Nicole Koh Sui Fen of Messrs Raja, Darryl and Loh. TNB was represented by Barvina Punnusamy and Nur Sabrina Ahmad Kamal of Messrs Jayadeep Hari and Jamil.
