KUALA LUMPUR: The implementation of Large Scale Solar (LSS), together with the Battery Energy Storage System in Sabah is expected to begin sometime in 2025 or 2026.
State Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Deputy Minister, Datuk Seri Huang Tiong Sii, said it was one of the options finalised between the Federal government and the Sabah state government to deal with the issue of increasing electricity demand in the East Coast of the state.
"The Federal government and the Sabah state government are fine-tuning the options by taking into account fuel sufficiency and supply costs.
"The government is always committed in helping to solve the problem of electricity supply disruptions and meeting the increasing demand for electricity in Sabah, especially in the East Coast part of the state," he said during the question and answer session in the Dewan Rakyat here, today.
He was responding to a question from Lo Su Fui (GRS-Tawau) about Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd's (SESB) plan to deal with the issue of frequent electricity supply disruption in Tawau.
According to Huang, the electricity supply system in Sabah is monitored using the System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI), which measures the duration of electricity supply interruptions to consumers within a year.
Sabah recorded a SAIDI of 74.91 minutes/user as of March 31 and for this year, the target is 250 minutes/user, he added.
He said several factors contributed to electricity supply disruption in Sabah and they included disturbance by wild animals; trees that interfere with cables; cable damage and overloading caused by illegal connections.
In order to overcome the problem, Huang said the government through SESB has implemented preventive maintenance activities through the installation of Distribution Automation to reduce the duration of interruptions and speed up supply restoration works that are carried out remotely.
"In addition, drones are also used to monitor electric lines and cables which will save inspection time and the implementation of electricity supply upgrading projects," he added. – Bernama