Sabah’s power monopoly, Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB), has warned that there is “no quick fix to the state’s long-standing power woes” even though current needs are fairly modest at an average 730 MW.
The public utility, 80 per cent owned by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), finally broke its silence amidst threats of demonstrations and legal suits from long-suffering consumers claiming compensation for endless load-shedding, power rationing, black-outs and power-shortages.
SESB Managing Director Baharin Din puts the immediate blame for the critical power situation on an IPP (Independent Power Producer) whose ARL Power Station experienced serious plant malfunction.
“Power supply generation is a shared responsibility in terms of installed capacity,” disclosed Baharin. “SESB is responsible for 45 per cent or 467 MW and the IPPs 55 per cent or 581 MW.”
Baharin was following up on a special closed door briefing session for MPs and state assemblypersons on Tuesday, organised by TNB and SESB chairman Leo Moggie, at the Le Meridien in Kota Kinabalu.
Also present was TNB CEO Che Khalib Mohd Noh, Deputy Chief Minister Peter Pang and Federal Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Environment Joseph Kurup.
It is not known what Moggie told the meeting but speculation is rife that he was trying to secretly push for the unpopular coal option in Sandakan, Lahad Datu or Tawau.
Elsewhere, Baharin admitted that aging machines and the failure of major projects to either take off or take off in time as among the major problems that SESB faces.
Meanwhile, consumer demand keeps rising and “cannot be contained by the existing power generation capacity”.
Projects on SESB’s drawing board include 190 MW of IPP Powertron’s three phases viz. 65 MW by Jan 2010, 65 MW by April 2010, and 60 MW by Sep 2010.
These projects to upgrade capacity were earlier expected to merely ease the supply-demand imbalances and do not guarantee 100 per cent supply reliability.
Old transformers overworked, overstretched
Mid and long-term plans to redress the problem of insufficient power supply hinge on three projects: the 100 MW SPR Energy Plant by 2012-13; the 300 MW Kimanis plant by 2013 and installation of a 300 MW coal plant in the east coast between 2014 and 2015.
“The delay in the implementation of planned projects has forced SESB to overstretch the capacity of its aging machines,” said Baharin.
“In the past months, most of the machines broke down one after the other. Just last week, 25 sets were down due to capacity overstretch.”
“That’s why the load-shedding exercises are absolutely necessary to facilitate crucial maintenance to sustain the capacity and to conduct rehabilitation tasks on the machines.”
In addition, SESB had to transfer power from the west coast to the even more critically hit east coast.
Here, the power utility is in a stand-off with environmentalists over the coal option.
The power generation capacity along the west coast was higher and would have been even better had the Ranhill Power Plant been successfully installed in June last year.
Now, there are severe delays and the earliest anticipated date for the plant to be commissioned is in January next year, according to Baharin.
Repair works at the Tenom Pangi and Melawa power plants are apparently scheduled to be completed next week.
This will provide 22 MW and 18 MW respectively from the two plants and increase power availability to 696 MW but still down from the “comfortable margin” of 730 MW.
Earlier, twenty 1 MW gen sets were purchased in April this year at RM 20 million to add to the power availability.
SESB also wants to source 20 MW either through purchases or by renting for distributing to the east coast.
This is expected to cost RM 48 million. In Beluran and Kota Kinabatangan, there are plans to install two 1 MW gen sets at an estimated cost of RM 3 million.
The SESB Chief cautioned that already the public utility is managing with an average power reserve between 5 and 10 per cent, as against the international norm of 25 per cent.
Damage reduces capacity
“Last week, the reserve margin had gone down to its lowest ever level at minus 10 per cent,” said Baharin frankly. “At this negative reserve level, the system becomes very unstable.”
The implications are serious. An under-frequency system would cause the entire system stability to be jeopardised.
The danger was that the system integrity would collapse. Load-shedding is one way to stabilise the system.
SESB, according to Baharin, is currently working on an Interim Action Plan (IAP) involving the repair and rehabilitation of most of its machinery”
“Because capacity has been over stretched, it has resulted in extensive damage to most of the machines,” reiterated Baharin.
“It is not just a wear and tear problem but a longer rehabilitation process that is needed. This takes more than just weeks since some of the parts have to be sourced from outside the country.”
Reliability of these machines depends not only on their condition and capacity but transmission efficiency.
Hence, the longer the distance, the higher the probability of transmission lines being exposed to disturbances along the way.
If there are major power plants located in the east coast – read coal – it would definitely reduce the probability of such occurrences, is the thinking of SESB and TNB, in particular Leo Moggie.
Sapp (Sabah Peoples Progressive Party) has set up an AD Hoc Committee headed by Supreme Council member, Yong Chong Kim, to assist members of the public to file compensation claims against the SESB for losses incurred.
The party which pulled out from the ruling BN (Barisan Nasional) on Sept 17 last year, will launch a signature campaign on Aug 23 to protest against the power monopoly enjoyed in Sabah by the SESB, according to Tawau MP Chua Soon Bui.
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