SAPP: Use viable alternatives, Not dirty coal!

KOTA KINABALU - Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) said the Federal Government should blame themselves and not environmentalists over Sabah’s perennial power problem.

SAPP Youth Chief Edward Dagul said Deputy Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid's statement that the Federal Government is relooking at the controversial coal-fired power plant project in Tawau has indicated that the Federal Government has failed to address power shortages in Sabah.

"Coal fired power plants are not acceptable to Sabahans. There are other more viable and acceptable alternatives like focusing on completing the interconnecting grid loop, as proposed by Omar Kadir, national Honorary Secretary of the Malaysian Nature Society. In fact, if only Sabah was allowed to harness and utilise its own resources such as natural gas, there would be no power shortages here. The Federal Government should have built the gas pipe line from Kimanis to Sabah's East Coast instead of to Bintulu, Sarawak, he remarked.

“The Deputy Minister may have singled out environmentalists for the power problem, but the campaign to reject the coal fired power plant was supported by the masses here in Sabah. So, don’t blame Sabahans for the incompetences of the Barisan Nasional administration. This is another example of an ignorant Federal Deputy Minister shooting his mouth off without fully understanding the actual situation in Sabah, he said.

"When Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak scrapped the coal power plant, almost all Barisan Nasional Ministers and YBs praised the PM. What would they say about the Deputy Minister's idea?

What has his Minister has to say? I am very sure Sabahans anxiously awaits Dr. Maximus Ongkili's opinions, added Edward.

Edward was commenting on Mahdzir's statement that said the ministry is discussing and taking a relook at the controversial coal plant project in Tawau, which was supposed to be implemented five years ago.

Mahdzir said the project has received protests from non-governmental groups who claimed that the plant would affect the environment.

“We will have a relook at all the aspects as the plant if implemented will have a long-term benefit to address the power shortage in Sabah,” said Mahdzir.

Mahdzir has described the State power supply as unsatisfactory.

The Ministry then announced the setting up of a special task force on power shortages in Sabah.

“The task force will study, monitor and advise on the types of planning and implementation of power supply projects for Sabah including on issues like power tariff and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd’s (SESB) turnaround,” Mahdzir said after chairing the task force meeting here yesterday.

The task force with its acronym PPPES will gather all their findings and submit them to the Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Maximus Ongkili, who will bring it up with the Federal Cabinet for decisions.

Mahdzir said the PPPES is represented by several Members of Parliament representing various zones in Sabah, officers and engineers from Energy Commission and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) together with their counterparts from various federal and state ministries and agencies.

He added that the federal government acknowledged that Sabah was still facing power interruptions and power shortage including in Labuan.

He said there were three main causes to the problem and they included the low reserve margin which has affected the planning of power generation projects unable to be carried out.

“The problem is also compounded by the weak distribution of power resulting in emergency load shedding and power theft.

“The ministry has taken mitigating steps like implementing short, medium and long-term plans from this year until 2025 which are undertaken by SESB,” he said.

Among the short-term measures for this year and next year is the commissioning of the Kimanis Power station which can generate 385 MegaWatt (MW) and SPR Energy power station with 100MW along with Sepanggar Bay Power Corporation (SBPC) which contributes 100MW. SESB also relies on Kubota Power Station in Tawau with its 64 MW production.

As for medium-term projects for 2013-2019, Mahdzir said the government would rely on the Ulu Padas Hydroelectricity Project which is capable of generating 180 MW and the Tawau Power Renewal Project which has a capacity of 30 MW.

“All these projects need huge funding to ensure that they are smoothly implemented,” he said.

Maximus said the electricity supply in Sabah was not satisfactory and that electricity users in the State and the Federal Territory of Labuan were still complaining of electricity disruptions and inadequate electricity supply.

He explained that there were three major contributors to the electricity supply woes in Sabah: low reserve margin, weak delivery network and electricity thefts.