KOTA KINABALU, Sept 21 — Sabah’s electricity generation reserve margin has risen from a low of eight per cent in 2024 to 19 per cent as of August this year and is expected to reach 26 per cent by year-end, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said.

He said the System Average Interruption Duration Index (Saidi) had also improved significantly, from 598 minutes in 2023 to 226 minutes as of July this year.

“This is in line with the Sabah Energy Roadmap and Master Plan (SE-Ramp 2040) and the target of achieving a 50 per cent renewable energy capacity mix by 2035,” he said in a statement after chairing the Sabah Energy Council meeting at Menara Kinabalu here today.

Hajiji said the improvements were the result of various initiatives to continuously strengthen the state’s electricity grid.

He said Sabah’s energy sector needed to be strengthened comprehensively, including ensuring the readiness of transmission and distribution infrastructure to improve the system’s reliability and resilience.

The meeting also discussed the review of the Long-Term Demand Forecast Study (LTDF2026) and Electricity Generation Development Plan (PDP2026) for the next 10 years to ensure generation capacity planning keeps pace with electricity demand.

Hajiji said plans were also underway to develop gas-fired power plants in Sandakan and Tawau to replace higher-cost diesel and Medium Fuel Oil (MFO) plants.

“Additional Large Scale Solar (LSS) capacity and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), implemented through a competitive bidding process, will also support the strengthening of the generation system,” he said.

He said LSS and BESS projects were also being implemented specifically to improve the reliability of electricity generation on the east coast.

The Chief Minister said Sabah’s electricity supply system had shown significant improvement since the state took over regulatory control of electricity supply and renewable energy.

“Previously, we had to wait four to five years to obtain approval for applications from the Federal Energy Commission, but since taking over, we can implement them ourselves and improve our electricity supply system more quickly,” he said.

Sabah assumed regulatory control of electricity supply and renewable energy following the approval of the Electricity Supply Enactment 2024, Sabah Renewable Energy Enactment 2024 and amendments to the Sabah Energy Commission Enactment 2023 by the State Legislative Assembly on Jan 3, 2024. — Bernama