KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) aims to reduce the System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) to 100 minutes by 2030 in a bid to reduce electricity supply disruption to the people in the state.
SESB chairman Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau said the SAIDI value in the Sabah electricity supply system is now about 274.43 minutes, reduced from 4,109 minutes in 2005, 424 minutes in 2013 and 302 minutes last year.
“Much progress has been achieved in the SAIDI value but the SESB will work hard to continue to reduce it to ensure a reliable supply of electricity to all areas in Sabah,” he said.
He said this when speaking at the launch of the book “The SESB Story” in conjunction with the SESB’s silver jubilee, Christmas and New Year celebrations here today, which was also attended by SESB chief executive officer Mohd Yaakob Jaafar.
Madius, who is also the Tuaran Member of Parliament, said the SAIDI value was one of the five challenges faced by the SESB at the moment, in addition to achieving the target margin of electricity supply reserves of 30 per cent compared to the current level of only 12 per cent, which causes disruption to electricity supply to consumers.
He said that dependence on the Tariff Support Subsidy (TSS) from the Federal government resulted in the financial sustainability aspect of SESB being at a critical level and last year the TSS reached RM862 million.
“The SESB sells electricity at an average base tariff rate of 34.52 sen per unit of electricity (sen/kWh), much lower than the average cost of generation of 43.83 sen/kWh. The difference in this rate results in an average loss of 10 sen/kWh for each unit of electricity sold,” he said.
In addition, for sustainable SESB finances, he said it was important for SESB to reduce its dependency on any party, including government subsidies to have its electricity generation capacity at least SESB’s main load of 700 MW.
Meanwhile, at a media conference, Madius said the SESB is ready to take over the electricity supply regulatory authority after the special session of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly on Jan 3.
He said cooperation between regulators and policymakers was crucial so that the interest of all parties could be seen in totality and, at the same time, consumers must also understand the role of the SESB, especially regarding tariffs not under SESB but determined by the Energy Commission (ST).
He also hoped that the book ‘The SESB Story’ would provide in-depth information to the public about the SESB’s role, including the challenges faced by the SESB, with the first edition of 200 books to be distributed to community leaders in Sabah.–Bernama
