KOTA KINABALU – Sabah will have regulatory control over its electricity supply by the end of the year or January 2024 at the latest, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali.
Until then, all decisions on electricity supply matters are still made by the federal government – specifically the Energy Commission and the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry, said the minister in charge of Sabah and Sarawak affairs last night.
“Sabah has its own Energy Commission now. There are two components here: the regulatory control over gas, which the state has obtained, and the electricity supply, which will be coming by the end of this year or latest by January 2024.
“All decisions (on electricity supply) are still under the federal agencies and the federal ministry in charge of the matter at present.
“But since planning for Sabah to take control is already in the works, the takeover will be done when the Sabah Energy Commission becomes fully operational,” he told reporters at a function organised by Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd here.
Armizan, however, said that while the federal authorities control the electricity supply, they must still heed the views of the state government, as investors coming to Sabah will require enough power supply to run their operations.
On January 10, the Sabah assembly passed the Sabah State Energy Commission Bill 2023 and Gas Supply Bill 2023 as part of efforts to hand regulatory control over electricity to Sabah from the federal government.
Electricity supply is part of Putrajaya’s devolution of regulatory control over Sabah’s resources to the state. Last year, control of gas supplies was handed over to the state.
Sabah’s Energy Commission, known as ECoS, was established early this year. Former energy minister Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili was named the agency’s chairman in February. – The Vibes, April 16, 2023
