KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said new technologies must be used to rectify failures in the Rural Electricity Supply Programme (BELB).
He said this after officiating the Asia Pacific Cooperative Youth Summit 4.0, here, Sunday.
“The BELB programme, which comes under my Ministry, started long ago, but we found some failures due to battery replacement problems.
“With the new technology, the battery lifespan is longer, and the system for maintenance will be changed by placing several suppliers in several specific areas, not just one supplier for a State as big as Sabah or Sarawak,” said Ahmad Zahid, who is also Minister of Rural and Regional Development.
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The installation of these solar panels on a large scale has been done.
Still, they found that there are some difficulties in terms of solar panel installation in rural areas.
“The installation of solar panels was implemented over a decade ago in Sabah and Sarawak.
“But because the battery replacement system is only given to one party, the area of Sabah and Sarawak is too broad, so it is impractical and takes time.
“Eventually, the areas that use solar energy will face longer darkness,” he said.
“Therefore, a new system must be created to replace this battery with a new battery such as EV (Electric Vehicle) batteries, and we believe this new technology will be a game changer in rural electricity supply,” he said.
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