Save Sandakan

JAKARTA, April 23 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today that Indonesia welcomed the possibility of Malaysia exporting electricity from the Bakun hydroelectricity project in Sarawak to Kalimantan.
The Prime Minister said Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono reacted positively when he brought up the matter at their bilateral meeting at the Istana Merdeka which was also attended by ministers from both sides.
“I have offered the possibility of us assisting Indonesia in fulfilling the energy needs in Kalimantan and Presiden Susilo has welcomed the offer,” he told Malaysian journalists at the end of his two-day visit to Indonesia today.
Najib said ministers of both countries would hold follow up meetings to discuss the matter as well as the passage for the construction of undersea cables to carry electricity from Bakun to Peninsular Malaysia.
The Prime Minister said about 70 per cent of the submarine cables would pass through Indonesian’s waters in Natuna Islands in the South China Sea.
Asked whether Malaysia would offer any special price for the electricity to be exported to Kalimantan, Najib said, pricing was not discussed yet.
The Prime Minister said Malaysia decided to redevelop the Bakun project as it was crucial to meet the country’s energy requirement especially in the peninsula.
“This is also to enable us to ensure that our energy mix can be enhanced through the hydro component which is more sustainable compared to gas which is a finite resource or coal which needs to be imported,” he said.

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Kota Kinabalu: The prospect of Sabah being able to benefit from power supplied by Sarawak’s Bakun project does not arise and Tenaga Nasional Berhad is, instead, looking in detail at the options available for Sabah in the long term.

"My answer to you (possibility of Bakun power exported to Sabah) is it is not likely, (because) it is already committed," said TNB Chairman Tan Sri Leo Moggie.

"But on whether the future hydro potential in Sarawak can be used for Sabah, we don’t know because it is an option that needs to have a long-term examination," he told reporters during a question and answer session-cum-briefing with the media at Wisma SESB, Monday.

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600-strong Sandakan environ walk

Kan Yaw Chong

KOTA KINABALU: Six hundred people of diverse backgrounds joined the first ever Sandakan “Walk for the Environment ” themed “Unite Against Climate Change”, Sunday.

Sandakan Municipal Council President, Dr James Wong, flagged off and joined the 4km walk which started at the Town Padang and went through the town centre leading to the coastal Sim Sim Road, back to the town centre and ended at the Town Padang.

Leading the pack included former Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly Datuk Seri Panglima Hassan Alban Sandukong, his wheel chaired wife Datin Nuri and a slew of NGO and community leaders, including Au Kam Wah, State Assemblyman for Elopura, and Chong Hon Min, former Independent Member of Parliament for Sandakan.

“This is a historic event”‘ said Charles Chow, Chairman of the Sandakan Pro-Tem Committee which organized the event.

He noted the “obvious unity” of all races and strata of society against climate change and thanked the police, the Council President, his committee members and the public for their support.

SEPA (Sabah Environment Protection Association) President, Wong Tack, said the extraordinary spirit of the Sandakan community to protect the future of their children and to ensure Sabah always remains green is worth emulating.

Charles, meanwhile, attributed the zestful turnout to concern and awareness as a result of wide coverage in the local dailies, FM Sandakan, distribution of flyers and by word of mouth.

Charles had earlier said relevance of the walk, citing how every Malaysian as well as foreign visitor ranging from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan have complained about the sweltering heat waves of late.

“Recent records and observation has shown carbon dioxide buildup to 450 parts per million (ppmV) globally while a study on surface temperatures in major towns across Malaysia carried out by professors at UKM had registered an alarming increase by 3.5 degrees Celsius,” Charles citied.

“This reflects abnormal variations to the expected climate within the earth’s atmosphere,” he said.  “I was in Kuala Lumpur recently and my watch with a temperature meter recorded 36 degrees Celsius while normal maximum in the past was about 33 degrees,” be said.

“There is much economic advantage to stimulate investment for the mitigation of local greenhouse gas emissions,” Charles suggested.

“We should therefore seriously look into these mitigation measures,” he added, citing the need to change everyday lifestyle, behavior, the adoption of energy efficient technologies, government rewards and incentives to industries for green initiatives, reduction of greenhouse emissions to raise air quality and health, investment in future energy capital with the environment in mind and strong emphasis on green technology, energy efficient buildings and encourage agricultural practices that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stress the protection of Sabah’s rainforests as a powerful mitigation factor,” he said.

He said it was “essential” to raise awareness on emission reduction at all levels of society.  “This is what the SEPA Sandakan effort is all about,” he pointed out, citing how the florescent bulb use 65 per cent less energy than filament bulb and a host of other potential actions that will make the difference, according to him.

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Dear readers,

SEPA Sandakan ( Sandakan Chapter of Sabah Environmental Protection Association ) will be organising a Walk for the Environment inconjunction with World Environment Day.

All are invited. Let us all UNITE against Climate Change.

The program is as below:

Date : Sunday, 24 May 2009

Location  : Sandakan Town Padang

• 7-8 am.: Registration and sale of items
• 8.45 am : Welcome address
• 9.00 am : Flag off by MPS President
• 9-11:45 am :  Walk through town, sim sim and back to town padang
• 12 noon : Ends

Please spare the time and bring along your family, friends to support this noble cause save our environment save SANDAKAN  ; Save for our future generation.

Make it your commitment today!

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Kota Kinabalu: Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui said the Government is not giving up hope to find the most suitable location for the proposed coal-fired power plant in Sabah.

However, he admitted that the setting up of the plant "is not so pressing at the moment", as the short and mid-term measures taken by the Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) are expected to address the power demand in the State.

Among the measures were the streaming of the plant by IPP Ranhill Powertron in Sepanggar with the capacity of 190 megawatt by end of this year and a 300 megawatt gas-fired power plant in Kimanis by Petronas, the latest by 2013. Two other projects as solutions were the Upper Padas hydro electric plant and Liwagu Hydro electric plant, both with the capacity of 150 megawatt each.

He said in addition to the 21 mobile generator sets which have a total capacity of 21 megawatt, the Prime Minister had on Thursday agreed to approve an immediate allocation of RM26 million for SESB to buy another 20 mobile generator sets. He said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak gave the nod when he (Chin) raised the power issue in Sabah.

"The Prime Minister was very concerned and understands well about the electricity supply problem in Sabah because he has been given constant update on the issue by the Chief Minister," he said.

The mobile generator sets would be able to address the load shedding and blackouts in Sabah, he said, adding it would be placed in strategic locations as an immediate relief to the shortage of power in these areas.

"So for the short and medium term (2009 to 2018) we will be able to cater demand for Sabah, he said after paying a courtesy call on Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman at his office in Wisma Innoprise, near here Friday.

Besides the possibility of channeling electricity to the East Coast of Sabah – which is facing acute shortage – from the Kimanis 300 megawatt gas-fired power plant, he said, another possibility was to bring power from the Bakun Dam in Sarawak.

"If the power can be channeled to the peninsula through underwater cable then why can’t (we try for) Sabah," he said. (See separate story).

Nonetheless, he said for the long term the Government could not give precise outlook on the long-term situation of the power supply in Sabah.

In this respect, he said the Federal and State governments would continue to discuss the best site for the proposed coal-fired power plant.

"As the Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister I will assure that in terms of power generation it will be the best model (if a coal-fired power plant is to be built in Sabah).

"It is like the one in Sarawak and those in the Peninsular Malaysia. It will not be what some people say as polluting. So far, we are still in discussion with the State Government on this matter."

Chin assured that the measures would be co-ordinated, especially in meeting the deadline.

"We want to assure the people that the Government is a people’s government as mentioned by the Prime Minister People’s First," he added.

When asked to elaborate whether it means that the coal-fired power plant is taking a back seat for now, he said, "we are still looking and we are not giving up but it is not so pressing at the moment

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EPA to Withdraw Permit for New Mexico Coal-fired Power Plant

FARMINGTON, N.M.— In the face of appeals by the Center for Biological Diversity and other groups, the EPA today asked its Environmental Appeals Board to voluntarily reject its issuance of a permit approving the Desert Rock coal-fired power plant in northwest New Mexico.

The agency’s issuance of a “prevention of significant deterioration” permit to the Desert Rock Energy Company is necessary for the power plant to proceed. Its withdrawal request continues a pattern of federal and state agencies, and power plant companies, delaying or canceling proposed coal-fired power plants around the country as concern grows for their environmental impacts and financial viability. Coal-fired power plants are the single greatest stationary source of carbon dioxide emissions in the nation, and their future has become uncertain as the federal government progresses toward regulating greenhouse gas emissions.

The Desert Rock power plant could emit hundreds of millions of tons of greenhouse gases over its 50-year lifespan, exacerbating local contamination problems in the process. Climate change is already contributing to long-term drought, weakening the ability of species to survive and recover. In addition, the plant would contribute more contamination to the fishes’ habitat for mercury, selenium, and other contaminants.

The Center for Biological Diversity is dedicated to ensuring that atmospheric CO 2 pollutant levels are reduced to below 350 parts per million (ppm), which leading climate scientists warn is necessary to prevent devastating climate change.  Further development of greenhouse-intensive energy sources, including coal-fired power plants, is fundamentally incompatible with achieving this goal.  If greenhouse emissions are not immediately reduced, the current atmospheric CO 2 level of 385 ppm will rise to approximately 500 ppm by mid-century, triggering mass wildlife extinctions, catastrophic global weather and ecosystem changes, and tragic human suffering.

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2009/desert-rock-04-27-2009.html The Center for Biological Diversity is a US, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 220,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

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# 3 .Cut down power usage during peak hours: SESB

Published on: Thursday, April 30, 2009

Kota Kinabalu: Power disruptions across the State could be avoided if people play their part by minimising electricity usage especially during peak hours.

Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) managing director, Baharin Din, however said it would require cooperation from the 405,000 consumers including from the public and private sectors.

He said even though the power shortage situation is temporary, the people can assist by using electricity as and when needed only.

"It’s very easy, switch off what you don’t require. It won’t inconvenience you and it doesn’t cost to save," he said at a media briefing, here Wednesday.

While this exercise would not produce immediate results, he said there is a need for a change in the people’s mindset and attitude.

"So, we would like to appeal to the people, to save electricityÉlet’s do this gotong royong.

"Let us show to the world that we can do it in Sabah," he said.

Citing the Earth Hour on March 28, Baharin said power load or usage went down by 50megawatt between 8pm and 9pm.

The normal peak hours when there is high usage of electricity is between 11am and 2pm, 3pm and 5pm and 7pm and 8.30pm.

Load shedding in the West Coast and East Coast for the past several days, according to Senior General Manager Peter Lajumin was due to several power plants being inoperable.

According to him, two hydro plants with a combined power output capacity of 44MW in Tenom were badly damaged by the recent floods.

In addition, he said they also lost 15MW from the steam turbine plant in Patau-Patau, Labuan, because it was not able to acquire the de-mineralised water from Petronas for its cooling system.

"We also lost 35MW from the gas turbine power plant in Labuan as it is currently carrying out critical maintenance work," he said.

The Independent Power Producer (IPP) in Sepanggar, he said also contributed to the load shedding when it suffered damage resulting in it being unable to distribute 30MW of electricity.

He said one of the hydro-powered plant in Pangi, Tenom, would only be operable in June while the gas turbine-powered plant in Labuan in 12 days.

However, he said they could not determine when the steam turbine-powered plant would be activated again as it would depend very much on the materials supplied by Petronas.

As for the IPP plant, Peter said he was made to understand that it has managed to rectify the damage.

All in all, he said they lost about 120MW during the recent load-shedding period.

The present facilities in Sabah have a capacity to produce 650MW of electricity.

However, as end of this year, the SESB hopes to have an additional 120MW from the setting up four sources namely 20 units of permanent generator sets (gensets), six mobile gensets, 40 rehabilitated existing sets and 60MW from an independent power provider (IPP).

http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=64626

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# 2 . SESB stops power from West to East

Published on: Thursday, April 30, 2009

Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) stopped "transferring" power from the West Coast to the East Coast since several days ago.

Its Senior General Manager, Peter Lajumin, said it simply does not make sense to do it since the West Coast is also experiencing power shortage.

He said the utility company reasoned that it must maintain system stability to prevent a total system collapse.

"So, during the shortfall of (power) generation, no power from the West flowed to the East," he said at a media briefing here, Wednesday.

He said this is paramount because otherwise they would be facing a dangerous situation where the entire power system would fail.

Nevertheless, Peter said the SESB still has to continue with its planned maintenance of the power generation sets.

He said the company does not want to be caught in a situation where the machines will suffer more damage.

In view of the load shedding, he said they have devised several steps to manage the situation.

Firstly, he said a Demand Side Management (DSM) would be activated which means that consumers such as factories with their own generation sets would activate their sets to offset power disruption.

Secondly, he said once SESB detected a drop in the power frequency, it would immediately conduct load shedding to prevent the system from collapsing.

"Thirdly, we mobilise mobile sets to supply power in selective areas such as commercial complexes," he said.

Fourthly, Peter said SESB would meet companies such as the Sabah Forest Industries (SFI) and request that the SFI use their own generation system.

Power saved from this exercise, he said, would be shared with other consumers through the Voluntary Curtailment of Electricity Usage (VCEU).

But if all these are not helping to ease the situation, Peter said they could impose load shedding on a rotation basis such as three hours per area.

"This is only a guideline and if we see the need, we can prolong the load shedding to more than three hours," he said.

On other developments, he said due to the load shedding, it is hard to maintain the System Average Interruption Duration Index (Saidi) to less than 1,000 minutes.

Last year, he said the Saidi in Sabah was 1,947 minutes and as of March, this year, it was 724.

He said they are targeting to hit less than 700 Saidi in 2010. But to achieve it, he said the company would need about RM2 billion.

On committed and planned power plants, Peter said there are four in its plan, namely Ranhill (190MW), Kimanis Phase I and II (300MW), Coal-Fired IPP Phase I and II (300MW) and Upper Padas Hydro and Liwagu Hydro (300MW).

He said the Ranhill power plant is expected to be ready by next year while Kimanis Phase I in 2012, Kimanis Phase II (2019), coal-fired IPP Phase I (2013), IPP Phase II (2014), Upper Padas (2017) and Liwagu (2018).

Meanwhile, SESB Managing Director, Baharin Din, said there is a very serious need for a power plant to be set up in the East Coast of Sabah.

And at the moment, he said the most efficient would be to set up a coal-powered plant but that it has met with strong objections.

http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=64647

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# 1 . Chamber raps SESB for shortage in S’kan

Published on: Thursday, April 30, 2009

Sandakan: The Sandakan Chinese Chamber of Commerce took the Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) to task for the power shortage affecting the district.

Its secretary, Stephen Wong Tien Fatt said that it was hard to accept the reason for the shortage, which according to SESB is due to critical maintenance works at several power stations.

He also express disappointment on the power rationing schedule, which he said was only release two weeks after the power disruptions here.

He said SESB should know that power generators will eventually have problems working and such as SESB should have taken early steps to address it, adding that the generator malfunction is not an excuse not to supply sufficient power to the district.

http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=64628

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Sandakan Anti Coal -Fired Power Plant Action Committee

c/o Sandakan Chinese Chamber of Commerce

Block 47, Jalan Leila, CCC Building,  
P. O. Box No. 161, 90702 Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia.  
Tel: 089-213371, 225861 Fax: 089-275861  
E- mail : savesdk@gmail.com

29^th April 2009

Y.A.B. Dato’ Seri Haji  Mohd. Najib Bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak

Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Malaysia

Prime Minister’s Office

Main Block, Perdana Putra Building

Federal Government Administrative Centre

62502 Putrajaya

Dear Y.A.B. Dato’ Seri,

Urgent Call for Rejection of Sandakan Coal-Fired Power Plant at Seguntor POIC Site

On behalf of the Sandakan Anti Coal-Fired Power Plant Action Committee which represents 31 NGOs and the communities of Sandakan, we wish to express our heartfelt congratulations and felicitations to Y.A.B. Dato’ Seri on your appointment as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia. We extend our best wishes for the continued success, peace and prosperity of the nation under your able leadership.  We are also deeply heartened by your new vision for Malaysia – ‘1Malaysia’.

One very encouraging breakthrough in your new Cabinet lineup is your creation of a new Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water.  We hope this fathoms a clear recognition by the Federal Government that in formulating energy policies, green and environmentally friendly technology will be given preference and priority.

We write to seek your esteemed understanding on the serious predicament that we are facing as a result of Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s proposal to set up a coal-fired power plant in Sandakan. 

In 2008, the Barisan Nasional Sabah State Cabinet had boldly rejected the proposed plan to build a coal-fired power plant in Silam, Lahad Datu, Sabah.  On 2 April 2008, speaking on behalf of the entire State Cabinet, Y.A.B Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Bin Haji Aman was reported to have said:-

“After weighing the pros and cons, the Cabinet decided to scrap the proposed project, because we do not want to risk the welfare and health of the communities in the area [in Lahad Datu] as well as any adverse impact on the environment… I know some say with today’s technology, the proposed plant is safe and clean but some experts also disagree.”

(New Sabah Times, 3 April 2008, front page)

The rejection was made without even waiting for any ‘Environmental Impact Assessment Report’ to be refered.  This was definitely a correct decision because it is a proven and well-known fact that coal burning, even with the best technology available at present, would cause harmful effects to the environment, not only due to the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere but also due to the release of toxic substances such as mercury, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, arsenic and so on.  These toxic substances could cause fatal diseases such as cancer, heart attack, asthma and birth defects.  It is a irrebuttable fact that coal burning is the dirtiest fossil fuel and a major contributing factor to global warming and climate change.

Despite that, in less than 6 months after rejecting that proposed coal-fired power plant in Lahad Datu, Tenaga Nasional Berhad / Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (TNB/SESB) proposed to build the same coal-fired power plant in a bigger, more densely populated town – Sandakan, the second largest town in Sabah.  The proposed location of the coal-fired power plant near Seguntor is in a close proximity of 5km from the town’s Sports Complex, and 10km radius from at least 2/3 of the residence of Sandakan’s population – not to mention the world- famous Orang Utan Rehabilitation Center, Sepilok, and the Sepilok Virgin Jungle Forest Reserve, which is just next door to the proposed location of the coal-fired power plant.

If the coal-fired power plant was deemed unsafe and emissions detrimental to the wild animals of Danum Valley and the people living in Lahad Datu, we fail to see how is it safe and healthy for the human beings and orang-utans living in Sandakan?  We expect the state government to be consistent with its stand to reject the coal-fired power plant regardless of where is it.

We cannot afford to risk our future generations to such potential threats of environmental disaster and serious public health that may be posed before us if the coal-fired power plant is set up at Seguntor, Sandakan. The voice of the majority of Sandakan people can no longer be ignored and more than 30,000 signatures have been gathered to acknowledge the seriousness of the problem and the concern expressed by the local communities.

We hereby make this urgent call for Y.A.B. Dato’ Seri’s attention and pray that through your able leadership and esteemed office put an immediate halt to TNB/SESB’s wrong choice of energy as there are plenty of alternative, clean energy currently available which can be implemented in Sandakan.  We humbly lay down some practical and workable considerations which include the following:

(1) It has been made known publicly that a 700km under-sea cable will be built to transmit electricity from Bakum Dam to Peninsular Malaysia.  At the same time, the said electricity will be sold to Brunei and Indonesia.  We humbly appeal the said power should also be transmitte to Sabah.  It is utterly illogical if our government chooses to sell our “clean energy” to Indonesia and on the other hand, decides to buy “dirty energy” (coal) to be used by the people of Sabah.

1. To complete the Grid Loop from Keningau / Ulu Padas and Tawau and expedite the approved 300MW of Gas Power Plant in Kimanis.  This will greatly improve the power supply status and reduce disruption in the badly affected regions.

1. Natural gas of which Sabah is the producer and in abundance should be enjoyed by the people of Sabah at the same time.

We stress that we are not against development in Sandakan, nor are we against the building of any power plant. We support the Government whole-heartedly and this has been proven by the fact that the people of Sandakan had returned 100% mandate to Barisan National on the last General Election held on 8 March 2008. However, in such a predicament with no clear assurance on the status of the proposed coal-fired power plant from the Government as of today, we fear that such inaction will only lead to mounting dissatisfaction and create uncertainties in future electoral decision.

We trust and pray Y.A.B. Dato’ Seri will see the light of our predicament and through your able leadership help find an answer to our desperate call for the rejection of the coal-fired power plant.  We hope that the will of the Sandakan people will not be let down.

Help Us Save Sandakan.

Thank you very much.

Yours sincerely,

Stephen Wong Tien Fatt

Chairman

For and behalf of Sandakan Anti Coal-Fired Power Plant Action Committee and Sandakan well-meaning Citizens.

Full Chinese text please click below.

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