KOTA KINABALU – Sabah would not have any problems in assuming regulatory control over power generation next year despite the energy crisis the state is facing, Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) chairman Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau has asserted.
He expressed confidence in the state’s capacity to enforce electricity supply laws, including the promotion of renewable energy through the Energy Commission of Sabah (ECoS).
“The chief executive officer of ECoS, Datuk Abdul Nasser Bin Abdul Wahid, is a very experienced man in the field and supported by around 30 experienced staff,” said Tangau during an online forum titled “Solving Sabah Frequent Outages” here last night.
In retaking control over the power, Sabah is expected to table the Electricity Supply Enactment and Renewable Energy Enactment bills, alongside amending the Energy Commission Enactment 2023, during a special assembly sitting scheduled for January 1, 2024.
These legislative measures aim to strengthen the state’s role in overseeing electricity and renewable energy components.
The introduction of the Renewable Energy (RE) Enactment will also empower ECoS to take over the role of the Federal Sustainable Energy Development Authority in the state, allowing ECoS to promote renewable energy initiatives and continue ongoing feed-in-tariff projects, said Tangau.
“This means ECoS would also be involved in the promotion of RE in the state. This includes continuing all the feed-in-tariff projects done in the state,” he said.
Upon gaining control over power generation, Sabah will have the authority to issue licences, renew them, and penalise power producers within the state.
Taking over SESB
Regarding the retaking of ownership of Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd, discussions between Sabah and SEB’s parent company, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, are still ongoing.
“The state must ensure that SESB’s affairs are in good health, indicating that the utility company is no longer reliant on federal government subsidies and is free of debt,” said Tangau.
SESB currently supplies only 20% of the electricity, while the remaining 80% is sourced from independent power producers (IPPs).
However, SESB operates at a loss of around 10 sen per unit as it purchases power from IPPs at 43 sen and sells it to consumers at 35 sen.
To keep rates low, the federal government has subsidised the cost, allocating RM800 million for this purpose last year, said Tangau.
Resolving power woes
Tangau identified three factors contributing to the state’s frequent power outages.
First, the low reserve margin forces SESB to carry out load shedding during scheduled maintenance by IPPs.
Secondly, over 5,000km of power cables lack protective coating, leading to power trips from minor disturbances.
Efforts to replace these cables with coated ones are underway but require over RM1 billion in funding and will take over 20 years to complete if no large-scale exercise is carried out to have them replaced, he said.
Thirdly, certain areas like Ranau and Telupid remain off-grid, experiencing over 500 minutes of system average interruption duration index (Saidi) annually, higher than the state Saidi at 298 minutes per year.
“In addition, retiring generator sets in these districts could reduce SESB’s power supply generation share from the current 20% to only 5%,” he said.
Tangau asserted that past decisions to scrap the Lahad Datu 300MW coal power plant and the proposed 120MW Liwagu hydroelectric dam project following heavy opposition from various groups.
“I think in Sabah there are too many people playing romance with the environment. If we had coal our Saidi would be less than 200 minutes today.
“We would have enough or more than 20% margin today. But there had been a lot of noise, so the projects had to be dropped. Now there are also new proposals to build new dams. It is my hope there are no more rejections,” said Tangau, perhaps referring to, among others, the Papar Dam.
He now urges consideration of new proposals for power projects to meet growing demands.
Tangau emphasised the need for balance between environmental concerns and meeting energy needs, stating that embracing coal power could have significantly reduced Saidi and provided an ample 20% margin of power supply. – The Vibes, August 4, 2023
