Sabah chief minister says state energy woes due to economic upturn

KOTA KINABALU, Jan 3 — The continuous power rationing and cuts in Sabah is not due to weakness in the state’s electricity authority but because of the sudden rapid rise in economic activity, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said today.

He said that the main factor that is contributing to the power issues is not because of the lack of generation capacity as managed by Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) but the increase in consumer use.

“We used to consume 900MW but this year, there has been an increase to 1,100MW. That’s why we have rationing.

“This is not a weakness in the SESB but due to a ramp up in economy whereby a lot of investors and businesses are opening up in the state and requires a lot of power,” he said in the state legislative assembly.

Hajiji said that a safe margin of buffer was 300MW, which the state does not have.

A special meeting in the Sabah Legislative Assembly is being held today to debate three Bills relating to the state’s electricity management.

Currently, the Sabah assemblymen are debating the Electricity Supply 2024 Bill and Renewable Energy Bill.

So far, they have unanimously agreed to amend clauses in the Energy Commission of Sabah Enactment 2023.

Earlier during debate, several assemblymen, including Senallang’s Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, Tanjung Aru’s Datuk Junz Wong, and nominated assemblyman Datuk Yong Teck Lee raised issues related to the constant cuts in Sabah’s electricity, which they said have resulted in lack of development and direct losses.

Hajiji acknowledged the problems and reiterated the government’s effort to fastrack its plan to improve power supply including renting power generators in the short term.

He also said that his state government will study the proposal to takeover independent power producers in the long term.

“We are also planning to fully take over SESB in seven years. For now, the state government has to deal with subsidies and other commitments,” he said.

The state owns about 17 per cent of the utility company while Tenaga Nasional Berhad owns 83 per cent.

“We cannot afford to take it over now, but we are looking for a formula. We can negotiate with TNB, including proposals on how to absorb SESB’s debts and other things,” Hajiji said.