KOTA KINABALU: Sabah can now increase generation reserve margin and address power shortage in the state, said state chief minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
He said the Sabah Energy Council (MTS) has approved various initiatives,
including exploring new renewable energy sources.
The council today agreed for feasibility studies to be conducted on new energy sources such as wind, geothermal and low-head submersible hydropower projects to boost the state's renewable energy mix.
Proposals by the Energy Commission of Sabah (ECOS) included an interim extension of viable power plants, purchasing power from biomass plants, as well as ensuring the completion of ongoing large scale solar projects.
The completion of the Sabah Hydropower Development Master Plan by the end of this year is also expected to support the state's power generation initiatives, said Hajiji.
As for the long-term plan, the state government is exploring new technologies like small modular reactors (SMRS), in collaboration with the federal government and Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) under the Sabah Blue Economy Plan, he added.
The OTEC Enactment 2024 was recently passed in the State Legislative Assembly.
Hajiji said: "Sabah Energy Roadmap and Masterplan 2040 (SE-RAMP 2040) outlines strategies and initiatives to balance energy needs and ensure energy security, affordability and environmental sustainability."
Earlier he said the role of the MTS, approved by the state cabinet on March 6 this year, was to ensure the efficacy of the SE-RAMP 2040 strategies and initiatives.
The MTS is chaired by the chief minister and comprises 11 permanent members, namely the works minister, industrial development and entrepreneurship minister, state secretary, Finance Ministry's permanent secretary, Works Ministry's permanent secretary, Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Ministry's permanent secretary, state Economic Planning Unit director, Sabah Maju Jaya Secretariat chief coordinating
officer, as well as ECOS chairman and chief executive officer.
The respective CEOs of the Sabah Energy Corporation Sdn Bhd, SMJ Energy Sdn Bhd and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd are invited members.
The MTS was set up following the handing over of power regulatory authority from the federal government to Sabah and to replace the Sabah Tariff and Electricity Supply Implementation and Planning Committee.