Save Sandakan

# 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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East Coast load shedding done on purpose: Jimmy

Published on: Tuesday, April 21, 2009

SRI Tanjung Assemblyman Jimmy Wong claimed frequent power cuts due to load shedding in the East Coast were deliberate and meant "to punish the people there for objecting to the coal-fired power plant".

"I want to talk about the frequent electricity disruptions perhaps not only in Tawau but throughout the East Coast. I want to ask the Infrastructure Development Minister why this only happens in our place," he said.

"I was informed that the power shedding is done purposely to teach the people from Sandakan up to Tawau for objecting to the coal-fired power plant," he claimed.

"Is this true? If not why is the power supply in KK not like that?," he asked.

http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=64393

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Ever wonder why are we, Sandakan citizen fighting so hard against the Coal Fired Power Plant? Take some time to read the Powerpoint slides/presentation to understand further.

Also, the Coal Fired Power Plant can be replaced with other alternatives eg: Solar and Wind Energy instead of coal that can destroy the nature of Sandakan!

Click MORE to continue reading

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Coal-fired plant: Sabah gov’t listens to cries of protest

Tony Thien | Feb 19, 09 4:33pm

Barisan Nasional ex-component party, the Sabah Progressive Party (Sapp), today welcomed assurances by the state government that the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Seguntor, Sandakan, has not commenced.

Sapp also reiterated its call to the state government to consider wider utilisation of natural gas for power generation in the state.

The party’s secretary-general, Richard Yong, said in a statement to Malaysiakini today that public protests have obviously caught the attention of state government leaders.

"We are pleased that the state government has bowed to public pressure on coal-fired power generation. We are also pleased that there is no commitment by Sabah to allow TNB to build the plant in Seguntor.

"We stand by our belief that if a coal-fired power plant was originally not good for Lahad Datu, it is obviously also not good for the people of Sandakan, or anywhere in Sabah," Yong said in response to Deputy Chief Minister Raymond Tan who yesterday said the state government has not committed itself to allowing Tenaga Nasional Berhad to proceed with the power plant.

Groups that opposed the power plant gathered at the Seguntor site last Friday claiming that earth works had begun on the site, and accused the state government of concealing the truth. Sapp president and former chief minister Yong Teck Lee was among the protestors.

Speaking to the media after the state cabinet meeting yesterday, Tan said it was wrong to accuse the state government of approving the construction of the plant as it had not made any commitment to TNB.

‘PM must live up to his promise’

Meanwhile, Yong today reiterated his call for the state government to consider cleaner alternatives in power-generation such as natural gas, and to seriously consider its decision to allow the piping of natural gas from Sabah to Bintulu in Sarawak.

"The prime minister promised the Sabah people that the gas pipeline project was cancelled. But we understand that it is going ahead as planned, except now Petronas is talking about a petrochemical complex at Kimanis and the construction of a gas-fired power plant.

"We are asking the prime minister to own up to his promises to stop the pipeline construction. At the same time, why can’t we consider building a gas-powered generation plant in Seguntor, instead of one using coal?"

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/98671

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P

PRESS STATEMENT

40 MW Coal-Fired Power Plant for Sabah Forest Industries

The Sandakan Anti Coal-fired Power Plant Action Committee (SACPPAC) fully supports the statement by State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister YB Datuk Masidi Manjun on his disappointment with the Federal Department of Environment (DOE) in its decision to approve a 40 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Sipitang without consulting the State Government in advance (Daily Express – 1st April 2009)
YB Datuk Masidi Manjun in commenting on reports that a proposal by Sabah Forest Industries (SFI) to open the 40 MW coal-fired power plant at its factory in Sipitang where DOE made a decision on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and conveyed its decision to the State Government.

As the State Minister in charge of Tourism, Culture and Environment, YB Datuk Masidi has every right to be upset with the pronouncement by the DOE without taking into consideration the welfare and interests of the people of Sabah.  The Minister and the State Cabinet is fully aware of the impact that can be caused by a coal-fired power plant – even one that produces only 40 MW of power supply – and as such the Sandakan Anti-coal Committee is grateful to the Sate Government for its concern in the wellbeing of Sabahans.

It is a well-known fact that the by-products of coal burning are hazardous and very harmful to humans, animals and plant life and continued exposure to these toxic materials can cause birth defects and gene mutation to our next generation. It has been proven that fly-ash and noxious gasses from coal-fired plants can cause higher asthmatic cases in infants and children; increase respiratory aliments; coronary heart disease; lung and nose cancer.

It is learnt that there is a proposal by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Sabah Electricity Sdn. Bhd. (SESB) to build a 300 MW coal-fired power plant at POIC, Seguntor, Sandakan.  The power plant in Sandakan will be 7.5 times bigger than the proposed plant at SFI, Sipitang. 
The site is situated in a “bay within a bay” with an abundant supply of seafood and marine life.  The livelihood of fishermen from numerous kampungs around the bay depends on their catch from the inlet. Any toxic wastes discharged into the bay or rise in seawater temperature, will adversely affect the source of revenue of these fisher-folk and their families.

Several housing estates and kampungs with a total population of over 40,000 residents and the world famous Sepilok Rainforest Discovery Centre and Orangutan Sanctuary is situated less than 5 kilometers from the site of the proposed coal-fired power plant.  The Sandakan Anti-coal Committee is very much concerned about the health and welfare all residents and wildlife of Sandakan.

The Chief Minister YAB Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman has rightly pointed out that Sabah’s east coast badly needs a power plant in view of shortage of power supply (Daily Express – 15th February 2009). The Chief Minister also added that the power plant is urgently needed as many industries, including the Palm Oil Industry Cluster (POIC) projects were set up in the east coast of Sabah. 

We request that a gas-fired power plant be set up for the east coast of Sabah instead of a coal-fired one.   In this respect we wish to stress that a natural gas-fired power plant will create equal job and business opportunities.  In addition a gas pipeline from Kimanis to the east coast will create even more downstream petroleum based industries and activities along the route of the pipeline.

Once again Sandakan Anti-coal Plant Committee wish to thank YB Datuk Masidi Manjun for is stand on the coal-fired power plant and hope that he would make use of his good office to turn down future requests for any coal-fired plants in Sabah.

Stephen Wong Tain Fatt, 
Tel: 019-8133168
President,
Sandakan Anti Coal-fired Power Plant Action Committee
1st April 2009.

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Masidi: It Would Be Sabahans Who Would Suffer if Environment Polluted

Any Plan to Build Coal Power Plant Should First Consult State Government

[Translated from Chinese from the Merdeka Daily News, 1 April 2009, front page.]

(Kota Kinabalu, March 31, 2009) Sabah State Tourism, Environment and Culture Minister, Datuk Masidi Manjun says, the Sabah State Government has a very stringent policy on environment. Any suggestion to implement coal power plant in the State, including before the relevant authority makes any decision to evaluate the Environmental Impact Assessment Report, should notify and consult the State Government first.

He made this response when interviewed in Kota Kinabalu with regard to the confirmation made yesterday by the Director General for Sabah Federal Department of Environment, Haji Abdul Razak bin Abdul Manap, that the said Department has already made a decision on whether to approve the Environmental Impact Assessment Report for the construction of a coal power plant and extension plan by the Sabah Forest Industries Sdn Bhd, and that the final decision shall be made by the State Government.

Masidi at the outset indicated that he was not personally aware of Sabah Forest Industries Sdn Bhd’s plan to construct a coal power plant, because nobody has notified or reported to him. “I myself only came to know about this matter 3 days ago.”

He said, the State Government recognizes and accept in principle the work carried out by the Department of Environment and the reliability of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report, but due to the fact that it concerns State policies, he was of the view that the relevant authority should consult and notify the State Government before making any final decision.

“I’ve contacted Haji Abdul Razak, he said his Department shall convey the said decision to the State Government. Under normal circumstances, they should submit the relevant suggestions in the form of a Cabinet Report Paper, to let the State Cabinet discuss further.”

He said, even though he did not know what was the ‘decision already made’ by that Department, he believes that the State Government shall further discuss and consider the matter. “Haji Abdul Razak informed Sabah Forest Industries Sdn Bhd only about the need to renew license, so this [using coal in its operation] is not something that only happened recently.”

It has been learned that the Company has used coal in its operation since 2007, and that the proposed 40MV coal power plant will not be using coal entirely.

Masidi explained, the State Government absolutely does not intend to make it difficult for any party who intends to carry out energy plan in the State, but everybody should understand that the State has its own policies on environmental and protection issues, even the Federal authorities should understand this.

“The State Government has always been serious on environmental and protection works, the ‘60 Earth Hour’ Campaign was only launched a few days ago, we cannot make self-contradictory decisions.”

He said, even though the Company’s proposed coal power plant is not on a big scale, but the important point is that it involves the relevant State policies. “The most important thing is that we do not wish to make any decision which we would regret in future but would be too late.”

The State Government is not interfering with the work of the Federal Department of Environment, but if pollution problems occur in the future, the people who will suffer are the people of Sabah, not those living in Kuala Lumpur,” said Masidi.

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