KOTA KINABALU: Sabah needs proper power supply planning in view of unsatisfactory management that resulted in frequent disruptions and rationing, says a Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader.
Its vice president Sim Fui said the ongoing power rationing in Sabah is a reflection of poor planning by the Federal Energy Commission and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) in the past.
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He said after 60 years of independence, Sabah only has 1,080 megawatts (MW) power generation capacity for the entire state while Peninsular Malaysia has 25,962MW and Sarawak has 5,996MW.
Sim, who is also LDP public complaints bureau chief, said the situation had been exacerbated by the shutdown of the Tenom Pangi dam and reduced capacity of some independent power producers owing to technical problems.
“In June, Sabah's electricity demand (hit capacity), resulting in power shortages and requiring rationing across the state.
"This is totally unacceptable, as electricity supply is the most basic necessity for daily living.
“The Energy Commission did not plan for any power supply reserve at all, with no foresight on the power demand in Sabah,” he said in a statement on Thursday (July 20).
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He said the signing of a power supply agreement with South Korean firm SK Nexilis on Monday (July 17) was very good news for the industry in Sabah.
Under the deal, SESB agreed to provide stable and reliable power supply at an attractive rate to the firm, one of Sabah's largest current foreign investors.
However, Sim noted, the concern now is whether or not SESB can generate sufficient power going forward considering the rate of development in the state.
He pointed out that the RM2bil Kibing Solar glass factory is being completed this year and ESteel has an upcoming RM19bil investment in Sipitang.
“Did the Energy Commission and SESB also anticipate the coming huge demand for electric vehicles in the state?" he asked.
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Sim said SESB and the Energy Commission should share the power generation plan for Sabah in the next five years, as well as their plans to adopt green energy, with the public.
“We must ensure future power generation in Sabah gives more priority to green energy such as solar, mini hydro, biogas, to comply with sustainability requirements. Forget about diesel and coal, please.
“There are more than 130 palm oil mills in Sabah that could easily invest in biogas green energy to supply the SESB grid, with the potential for more than 260MW at 2MW per mill," he said.
Sim also welcomed the return of power generation approval authority to the state from the Federal Government through the setting up of the Energy Commission Sabah (ECoS).
