SANDAKAN: Kampung Forest has been selected for the interim squatter colony electricity supply pilot project in Sabah.
Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) CEO Ir. Ts. Mohd Yaakob Jaafar said the Government and Energy Commission’s decision to approve the independent power distributor concept has provided an interim solution to the problem of illegal electricity connections in the area.
“This project has now been implemented for exactly one month where a total of 752 out of 1,200 houses have already registered for the service.
“So far, power to 458 houses have successfully been distributed. The service is given to squatters regardless of their citizenship status.
“SESB has spent RM3.5 million to provide new poles, prepaid meters and wiring,” he said after visiting the project site on Tuesday.
He explained that the initiative was to ensure the security of people and property due to illegal connection activities.
“In addition to supplying electricity, we also do the wiring inside the house to ensure safety.
“We also want to ensure that SESB users in other areas do not experience supply disruptions due to illegal connection activities,” he said.
Mohd Yaakob said although it’s an impermanent interim project, it is still able to reduce incurred losses.
“While we wait for direction from the Government regarding the squatter status, SESB cannot always suffer losses, we have to take care of our returns,” he added.
Statistics from the Sabah Ministry of Local Government and Housing shows there are some 31,470 houses or 224 squatter colonies throughout the State and this number is expected to increase.
Due to the project’s success, SESB will be expanding services to other squatter areas such as Sepanggar in Kota Kinabalu and Batu Sapi in Sandakan.
Mohd Yaakob said SESB hopes all parties will support the first step to solving the problem of illegal and safe electricity supply in squatter colonies throughout Sabah and Labuan.
An appointed private company, Village Support Service Sdn Bhd (VSSSB), has full autonomy over matters related to applications and connection of supply to the homes of residents of Kampung Forest without going through SESB.
Additionally, the electricity supply infrastructure will be constantly monitored by VSSSB to prevent vandalism on existing installations that may cause supply disruptions to other users.
A resident met by Daily Express, Sakkam Saddali, 59, said he was very satisfied with the prepaid electricity supply system.
“As residents of this area, we now enjoy a more stable electricity supply where the lights light up well, not flickering like before due to unstable supply,” he said.
Sakkam said he spends more than RM200 a month because there are three refrigerators and several other electrical appliances to meet the needs of his 17 residents at home.
In other developments, SESB will initiate steps to introduce a smart meter system that allows users to monitor bills and SESB to detect any electricity theft activity.
The system has already been used in the peninsula and in Sabah the main focus is on large power consumers, commercial and domestic users.
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