SESB must generate state’s base load before moving to renewables, says Tangau

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) must generate the state’s base load demand before it can seriously move towards renewable energy, says Datuk Seri Madius Tangau (pic).

The SESB chairman said the company must own the capacity to generate at least 70% of Sabah’s base load power requirements before going into renewable energy.

He said the base load power demand in Sabah is at 1,080MW and the maximum power demand is about 1,200MW, which means that the state’s reserve margin is less than 12%.

“Obviously, this situation cannot ensure stable power supply as the surplus is insufficient to cover technical problems, thus the frequent power disruptions in Sabah,” said Tangau.

“We must first solve the power disruption problem first. To do this, SESB must own at least 70% of the base load power generation (about 700MW) and must generate its own electricity because we need to have control,” he added.

He said SESB is currently only generating and owning 20% of this, while the rest is purchased from independent power producers (IPP).

Tangau then said that the base load is the minimum power level that must be dependable enough to meet the 24-hour demand consistently.

The Tuaran MP said since 80% of power supply in Sabah is generated by IPPs, SESB’s hands were tied in many matters relating to power generation in the state.

“For example, when a certain IPP suddenly wants to do scheduled maintenance, and when an IPP does not supply the amount of electricity as agreed, there is not much we can do. In that instance, load shedding is unavoidable,” said Tangau.

He added that SESB hopes the government will place confidence and trust in SESB so that it would be able to generate its own electricity without depending on IPPs.

Tangau then said that stakeholders see SESB as mere offtakers of power generation and added that they should re-examine its financial sustainability and the stability of the electrical power supply,

He also said that SESB owned the transmission and distribution but not the generation assets, adding that it is served by skilled manpower to conduct studies and run its own projects for power generation in Sabah.

“We (SESB) are not given the opportunity to operate (the power plants) even when SESB was the one who conducted studies for projects such as the Ulu Padas Dam, Liwagu Dam and a coal power plant in Lahad Datu,” he said.

Tangau said that SESB had spent RM33mil to conduct a feasibility study on the Ulu Padas Hydroelectric Dam but was not given the trust to implement the project and added that the proposed Lahad Datu plant was cancelled due to parties clamouring to own it.

He added that this is very different in Sarawak as Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) owns all the power generation plants in the state.

Tangau said that he recently held dialogue sessions with state and federal representatives in Sabah in the hope of getting them to be united in empowering SESB to make decisions for power generation projects in the future.

“Their responses have been very positive so far. All of them support SESB. Moving forward, when SESB proposes a project, we hope to get support from all the parties as well as the government,” he said.

Tangau added that SESB is currently operating at a loss because power is purchased from IPP at RM0.43 per unit but sold to consumers at RM0.34 per unit in accordance with the tariff set by the federal government.

“The electricity tariff in the peninsular is RM0.39 per unit electricity. SESB is currently facing a real problem – financial sustainability,” he added.

The former science, technology and innovation minister as well as said he also hoped Petronas and the Sabah government would prioritise electricity generation when it comes to natural gas distribution.

“If all gas resources are given to the industrial sector, and none to power generation, then how are the industries going to operate without an electricity supply? So please prioritise electricity generation first,” he said.