KOTA KINABALU: The plans to rent two power ships to meet electricity demands in Sabah were put to an end, as announced by the Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister, Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan. This decision came after negotiations failed to materialize, resulting in the scrapping of the power ship deal.
The project, initially approved by the Sabah Planning and Implementation of Electricity Supply and Tariff Committee on June 12, was intended to provide some 224MW of electricity during the rental period from 2023 to 2028 through the use of power ships, essentially floating power plants.
“However, the Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) and Turkish-based Karpowership Global DMCC were unable to reach an agreement on the terms,” Nizam explained during a session of the Sabah state assembly on Thursday (Nov 30).
He also mentioned that the SESB board of directors decided to terminate the negotiations on Sept 15, notifying the Energy Commission of Sabah (Ecos) and Karpowership Global in writing. A subsequent meeting on Sept 20 led to the cancellation of the project, with support from various relevant parties including the ministers and the energy commission.
Consequently, alternative plans have now been developed, including the extension of the interim rental period for the 100MW diesel generator sets to 2025 to supply power to the state. Additionally, the project to install the battery energy storage system (BESS), capable of producing 100MW of power, will be brought forward to next year.
“Ecos will refine and coordinate changes in the Power Development Plan (PDP) next year after the state assumes full regulatory control of its electricity supply,” Nizam confirmed. He also outlined the medium-term plan (2026 to 2030) to increase power generation capacity through hydro resources and a large-scale solar power project.
Furthermore, the long-term plan will focus on maximizing the potential of hydropower while exploring other resources such as geothermal, wind, and hydrogen.
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