TAWAU: Electricity transmission capacity to Sabah’s east coast has been significantly strengthened following the completion of a RM9.2mil strategic grid upgrade aimed at improving supply stability and lowering generation costs for Tawau.
Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Mohd Yaakob Jaafar said the project involved the installation of a 132kV capacitor bank at the main Tawau intake substation, completed on Dec 31 after works began in Nov 2024.
He said the upgrade was part of a broader strategy to transmit more affordable electricity generated on Sabah’s west coast to the east coast, where production costs are higher due to heavier reliance on diesel generation.
"The objective is to transfer cheaper energy from the west coast to the east coast, particularly to Tawau. Power generation costs are much lower in the west coast compared to the east," he said during a site visit with media on Friday (Feb 13).
Yaakob explained that following the earlier upgrading of the 275kV transmission line from Sandakan to Lahad Datu in March last year, supply capacity to the east coast had already increased from about 210 megawatts (MW) to 260MW.
"With the completion of the capacitor bank project, the potential power transfer to Tawau can now reach up to 400MW," he said.
He added that the Energy Commission of Sabah had set a key performance target for Sabah Electricity to complete the project before the end of 2025 - a deadline which the company met on time, within budget and without any workplace accidents.
Yaakob said Tawau currently records electricity demand of around 170MW to 180MW daily, supported by grid supply and three local power stations - HDA Kubota, HDA Tawau and IPP Serudong - with no current supply constraints.
While the project was primarily aimed at enabling cheaper energy transfer rather than directly reducing outages, he said service quality had improved, as reflected in Tawau’s System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI).
"SAIDI in Tawau has improved from about 180 minutes previously to around 130 minutes now, showing better reliability compared to last year," he said.
On future grid reinforcement, Yaakob said Sabah Electricity is studying the installation of reactor systems in Sandakan to further strengthen power flow along the east coast corridor, following earlier improvements made after last year’s supply disruptions.
He also outlined plans under the Sabah Energy Roadmap to gradually phase out diesel power stations across the east coast between 2027 and 2029.
"Diesel stations in Sandakan and Tawau will eventually be replaced with cheaper and more sustainable energy sources," he said, adding that alternative generation projects, including large-scale solar plants on both the west and east coasts, are already in development.
He said additional renewable energy capacity is also being planned by the Energy Commission of Sabah to support long-term supply security in the east coast region.
"The goal is to reduce dependence on costly diesel generation and support a more stable, affordable and reliable electricity system for Sabah," he said.
