Kota Kinabalu: Sabah West Coast Smart Consumers Association (SWCSCA) cautioned against any prolonged load shedding or rationing of electricity in Sabah, saying it will have serious negative impact on the local economy and consumers alike, especially the business sector.
Its Chairman David Chan urged the government through the utility company Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) to find the right short and long term solutions before the situation worsens.
Last week, Sabah Works Minister Datuk Shahelmey said load shedding is expected to continue until July.
He said the exercise is necessary due to high electricity demand during hot weather, as people would rely on air-conditioners to cope with the situation.
SPONSORED CONTENT Carlsberg’s special edition cans feature Sabah, Sarawak wonders Kota Kinabalu: Carlsberg Smooth Draught Celebrates raises its special-edition cans to Borneo with tattoo art by local artists commemorating Sabah and Sarawak’s natural wonders. Read more It is for this reason, Shahelmey said SESB would deploy additional generator sets to meet demand.
“It will not be a blanket load shedding. The purpose is to maintain grid stability…consumers will be notified about any load shedding and maximum duration of the disruption is two hours.”
David said power interruptions would only defeat the government’s aggressive efforts to lure more local and foreign investors/capitalists/ businessmen to further boost the local economy after coming out from the disastrous negative effects of the Covid global pandemic.
“Sabah needs to bring in investors, we all know power disruption is caused by shortage of power generation …no use to point fingers. What needs to be done is to immediately address the problem before it is too late,” he said Monday.
“Sabah’s (SESB) total capacity of power is kept at 1200 MW but we have almost reached the bottle neck, based on the given statistics. Our state is actually behind Peninsular and Sarawak. “If this situation continues, surely the situation will invite disaster,” David said.
Hence, he said SWCSCA hoped the government would address without much delays.
David suggested that it would be logical for the government to set up a team comprising experts to identify strategies and concrete solutions to the problem.
It would also be worth pondering to entertain the idea of a new coal power plant for Sabah, he said.
Meanwhile, SESB said it would augment the electricity supply capacity by introducing 11 mobile generator sets to the grid.
It was also announced that the Sabah Government is urging the Energy Commission to expedite the implementation of new power plant projects in the State.
SESB has a long-term plan to boost the power supply in Sabah, but there have been delays in its implementation.
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