KOTA KINABALU, Jan 3 – The Sabah government is planning to take over Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) and is working out a formula to realise the plan within seven years from now, a special session of the Sabah State Assembly was told today.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said currently, the state government holds 17 per cent stakes in SESB, with the remaining by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).
He said this when winding up the debate on the Sabah Energy Commission (Amendment) Bill 2024.
Meanwhile, Hajiji said the main factor contributing to the current problem of electricity supply in Sabah is not only due to the lack of generation capacity but also the increase in user load.
This can be seen from the usage of 900 Megawatt to 1,100 Megawatt in a year following the rapid economic development in Sabah, he added.
As such, he said, the state government is focusing on ensuring that the short-term Generation Development Plan is implemented on a fast track to achieving the generation spare capacity to a strong level of 30 per cent.
This, he said, would be in line with the Sabah Energy Roadmap and Master Plan 2040 (SE-RAMP 2040) launched last September.
He said the effort, among other things, involved renting diesel-based generator sets and extending the operation of the existing diesel-based power plant in Tawau by 70 Megawatts, as well as the completion of the 62 Megawatt Large Scale Solar (LSS) project this year.
“The proposed installation of a 100 Megawatt Battery Energy Storage System scheduled for completion in 2026 will bedone earlier for completion in 2024, and renting a 100MW gas-based plant for an interim period until the permanent 100MW gas plant is completed,” he added.
“The operation of green energy sources through the Feed in Tariff programme from mini hydro sources with a capacity of 31.6 Megawatts and biogas with a capacity of 5.6 Megawatts in 2024 as well as an additional LSS project of 100 Megawatts in 2025,” he added.
Hajiji said to ensure the sustainability of sufficient generation capacity, the medium and long-term Generation Development Plan will also be implemented, among other things, involving the addition of generation capacity from hydro resources amounting to around 400 Megawatts.
He said there will also be a 275-kilovolt main transmission line project, which is the completion of the transmission line connecting the Sabah grid with Sarawak, and the Southern Link transmission line project.
“This will further strengthen the capacity and stability of Sabah’s grid to receive large load requests, especially from industrial users in the future,” he said.
The Sabah Energy Commission (Amendment) Bill 2024 was then passed with a majority vote.
