Ongoing efforts to rescue SESB

Talks crucial as power firm continues to make losses and on the verge of insolvency

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB), which is on the verge of insolvency, will be having an ongoing discussion with its major shareholder Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry (KeTTHA) and Finance Ministry (MoF) to address the matter.

KeTTHA Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili said in a statement that the discussion was crucial, especially since SESB continued to make losses and on the verge of insolvency. “SESB’s future will be known after these discussions,” he said.

He said TNB owns 82.75% of SESB, while the rest of the stake is held by the Sabah government.

SESB’s current average tariff is 34.52 sen per kwh while cost of energy generation is 56.50 sen per kwh, he said.

Ongkili said the federal government had been subsidising SESB’s fuel costs, primarily diesel, medium fuel oil and gas and had also been providing the bulk of SESB’s capital expenditure.

He said that since 2012, the federal gov- ernment spent RM4.2bil to boost SESB’s operation, and that both TNB and SESB had also spent their portion on capital expenditure (capex).

“For the period between 2016 and 2019, the federal government has also allocated RM2.3bil for capex and reducing System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI),” he said.

Ongkili added that through these efforts, the SAIDI in Sabah had been reduced from 777 minutes per customer each year in 2014 to 311 last year, and expected to be further lowered to 280 by year end.

He said SESB had been asking for tariff revision since its last review in 2014, but it was also the federal government’s duty to ensure the tariff is fair and affordable to consumers.

“We also want to ensure that the tariff revision is reflective of the quality of power delivered,” Ongkili said in response to comments made by TNB chief executive officer Datuk Seri Azman Mohd recently.

Azman had earlier disclosed that they were discussing about the future of SESB and an agreement to determine the best option is expected by 2018.