KOTA KINABALU – The Sabah government is working with the federal government to acquire rental power generator sets that could generate up to 200 MW in Sabah as soon as possible.
State Works Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya said the rented power generators are expected to start operating this year, and it is the government’s approach to solve the power shortage problem while waiting for long-term plans to be implemented.
“The Sabah government is in discussion with the federal government to speed up all methods to increase the power generation capacity of the state to 200 MW through rental power generators and (trying to expedite) the allocation to fund all initiatives to overcome this critical situation in Sabah,” he said.
He said this in his winding-up speech at the Sabah assembly sitting today.
Shahelmey also said as the Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline project was stopped because of a gas supply shortage, the Sabah government proposed for the project’s allocation to be used to start the Southern Link project instead.
The Southern Link project, which costs RM1.4 billion, has yet to be approved by the federal government due to a lack of funding.
The Southern Link project is an alternative primary grid that will connect Sabah’s east and west coasts, with a transmission line that will complete the 275kV ring system grid in Sabah.
“The federal government is still considering this proposal, but the Sabah government will follow up on this until it is implemented.
“The Southern Link is important in protecting the stability of Sabah’s power grid while meeting the need for a high-voltage link to transfer bigger power from large-scale power plants in the Sabah grid beginning 2017,” he said. – The Vibes, May 24, 2023
