Sabah govt must resolve SESB debts before taking control of electricity supply, says Shafie

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government must find out ways to get Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) to absorb the debts in Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) and resolve other financial matters before taking over its operations, said Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.

The Senallang assemblyman said from what he knew, utility company SESB which is now under TNB, also receives a subsidy from the Federal Government amounting to over RM600mil per year.

“So how is Sabah going to sustain these payments when it takes over SESB’s operations?” he asked when debating on an enactment to amend the Sabah Energy Commission Enactment 2023 on Wednesday (Jan 3).

Shafie said TNB has over 80% of shares in SESB, and should absorb all debts before handing it over to the state in seven years from now (by 2030).

“If TNB has an annual revenue of billions of ringgit, why can’t it absorb the debt? Why is it that SESB, which has less than 20% share, needs to pay this debt?” he asked.

He said the government must also review the independent power producers (IPPs) in the state over concerns of inconsistent pricing and supply.

Shafie asked how is it that Sabah, which has the most number of IPPs in the country, still faced power supply rationing when there is no other state in the country that does power rationing as much as it does.

“Sabah has over 10 IPPs. We need to review these IPPs,” he said, adding that the welfare and benefit of the people should be prioritised and not the benefit of IPPs.

In supporting the proposed bill that would give the state full regulatory authority on power supply, the former chief minister said it was vital that the future management of the Energy Commission of Sabah is done properly.

He said in future, Sabah can think of exporting its energy but first, it has to make sure that the needs for the state are more than enough.