Poon: State economy depends on steady electricity supply

KOTA KINABALU: The future of the state’s economy is much dependent on a steady electricity supply.

“The drawing up and publication of SERAMP 2040 (Sabah Energy Roadmap and Master Plan 2040) appears to be a well-thought-out plan and timely and I do hope the Sabah Government will take this up seriously with a strong ‘driver’ in charge to drive the plan forwards zealously and without fail,” said Tanjung Papat assemblyman Datuk Frankie Poon.

Poon, when debating the government’s policy speech at the State Assembly on Monday, disclosed that the current excess electricity is less than 10 per cent of the total electricity generation in Sabah and there is hardly any margin of allowance for disruption to the power supply.

“Recently there was scheduled electricity supply rationing due to an independent power producers (IPP) breakdown. This did not reflect well on investors as some industries can’t afford to have a shutdown of their machinery due to the nature of their industries. A standby gentset is not feasible for permanent usage,” he said.

According to him, Sabah Government through the Energy Commission Online System (ECOS) recognises that the way forward is to have renewable energy mainly through solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS).

ECOS, he opined, should implement the Net Energy Metering (NEM) and Green Energy Tariff (GET) with the use of renewable energy to support current and future supply of energy to consumers’ demand.

The recent announcement by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor that the State Cabinet has agreed to give special permission to investors operating in industrial parks in the State to set up power generation facilities for their use has come at the right time.

“But why limit it to industrial parks only? It would be more meaningful to tie them to the installation of solar panels and to render tax incentives. Hence, the Sabah government should assist in the installation of solar panels on households’ rooftops on credits and encourage developers as well as all industries’ buildings to install solar panels on rooftops,” he said.