SHAH ALAM – If your laptop suddenly went dead in the middle of a Zoom call or your favourite restaurant turned into a scene from The Purge on Tuesday afternoon, you were not alone.
On Oct 15, parts of the Klang Valley and Johor Bahru were hit by a major power outage that left everything from malls to traffic lights in total blackout mode.
The incident traces back to one powerful player in Melaka: the Edra Power Plant.
The great afternoon blackout
From offices in Taman Tun Dr Ismail to apartments in Mont Kiara and Bukit Damansara, many Malaysians suddenly found themselves in the dark.
The electricity cut off around midday and it wasn't just a flicker.
Entire neighbourhoods across Klang Valley, Johor Bahru, Ipoh, Melaka and even Kuantan went dark for hours.
For some, it meant no Wi-Fi.
For others, it meant getting stuck in mall escalators or being stranded in traffic as the signals went out.
Major shopping hubs like Mid Valley Megamall, Pavilion Damansara Heights, Sunway Velocity and TRX all felt the impact.
On the streets, traffic crawled as signals went down, turning the afternoon commute into chaos.
The culprit: Edra Power Plant in Melaka
So, what exactly went wrong?
According to Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), the power disruption originated from a technical issue at the Edra Power Plant in Alor Gajah, Melaka. It is one of Malaysia’s biggest power producers.
The Edra Melaka Power Plant (EMPP) is a massive combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) facility that has been fully operational since 2022.
It is powered by GE’s HA Gas Turbine technology and holds the title of the largest CCGT plant in Southeast Asia, with a whopping 2,242 MW generating capacity.
Each of its three generating blocks can pump out over 745 MW, using high-tech equipment including GE 9HA.02 gas turbines, STF-D650 steam engines, and W88 generators.
The plant is 100 per cent owned by CGN Edra Group, under Edra Energy Sdn Bhd. In simpler terms: this power plant is a beast and when it hiccups, the rest of us feel it.
Who is Edra Energy?
Edra Energy is a private Independent Power Producer (IPP) that manages a portfolio of eight power and desalination plants across four countries; Malaysia, UAE, Pakistan and Bangladesh; with a total installed capacity of 7,684 MW.
Formed in 2014 through the consolidation of the Powertek Energy Group, KLPP Group and Jimah Energy Group, Edra has grown into one of Asia’s largest energy producers.
Its plants in Malaysia include facilities in Jimah, Telok Gong, Kuala Langat, Kuala Ketil and Alor Gajah.
When a plant of this scale faces a disruption, it’s like your phone dying mid-Grab ride, except it affects millions of people.
Which areas were hit?
The power cut did not discriminate. Across Peninsular Malaysia, outages were reported in:
Klang Valley: PJ Old Town, SS2, Section 8, Universiti Malaya, Bukit Damansara, Mont Kiara, Bukit Bintang
Johor: Johor Bahru, Kluang, Pasir Gudang
Others: Tampin, Melaka, Ipoh, Kuantan, Sendayan
Traffic lights stopped working, leaving roads congested and drivers frustrated. Some areas lost power for over an hour before restoration began.
TNB’s response
In a statement, TNB Careline, the utility company’s customer service arm, confirmed that the disruption was linked to the Edra Power Plant in Melaka.
Its Facebook post read: “We appreciate your patience and regret any inconvenience caused.”
The company said technical teams worked around the clock to restore power in stages, with electricity fully restored to most areas by 5.54pm. Around 5.30pm, TNB also shared that power was progressively returning to parts of the Klang Valley, including Sri Hartamas, Ampang and Bukit Jalil, as well as Pasir Gudang in Johor Bahru.
TNB encouraged anyone still facing outages to contact them via 15454, tnbcareline@tnb.com, or through their official social media platforms.
The bigger picture
While Malaysia’s grid is generally reliable, the blackout served as a harsh reminder of how dependent urban life has become on uninterrupted electricity; from keeping traffic flowing to powering work-from-home setups.
For many, the outage was not just an inconvenience. It was a sudden pause, a moment when the hum of city life went silent and you realised just how much runs on a single, invisible current.