KOTA KINABALU, May 26: Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd will appoint an independent consultant to study other power options in place of the controversial coal-fired power plant for the east coast of Sabah.
Tenaga Nasional Berhad chairman Tan Sri Leo Moggie said the company through its Sabah Electricity subsidiary hoped to get a second opinion to help meet the electricity needs of the east coast.
“Looking at it again and again, we in Tenaga feel the coal-fired plant was the best option. We have decided to get a second opinion and appointed a consultant to give us a detailed look at various other practical options available,” said Moggie, who is also Sabah Electricity chairman.
“We are open to ideas, we also don’t see it (alternative to coal power),” he said in stressing that Tenaga still found the proposed 300MW coal-fired plant in Sandakan as the best option.
Moggie said if the consultant provided them with other options they would consider them but cautioned that the power supply in Sabah’s east coast from Sandakan to Tawau needed to be boosted as there was too much reliance from the power supplied from the west coast.
Dismissing the option to source power from Bakun as most of it would be utilised within Sarawak and channelled to Peninsular Malaysia, Moggie said they were looking at Sabah’s Liwagu in Ranau and Upper Padas in Tenom for hydro power.
As an interim measure, Sabah Electricity has purchased 20 mobile 1MW generators to support power generation from the west coast to the east coast through the east-west power grid.
“This is like putting a band aid that will work for a short period; we still need practical solutions,” he said, adding that there were no viable renewal energy sources available to meet the demands in the state.
Moggie also disclosed that Sabah Electricity would be putting RM50mil for maintenance and upgrading of existing power facilities.
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