Energy company, electricity rights to be returned to Sabah

POWER TALKS... Energy, Science Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin informing Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal about the Cabinet's greenlight to return Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd to state control.
 

KOTA KINABALU: The federal government has agreed in principle to return the ailing Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) to Sabah, 34 years after the state government ceded its powers over energy company.

Energy, Science Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin said Cabinet had agreed in principle to start the process of returning the utility company to the state.

Yeo, who met on Friday with Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal to convey the federal government's decision at his office here, said two special task forces – technical and financial - would be set up to start discussion and negotiation.  

The financial task force will involve the state, Finance Ministry and other relevant agencies, while the technical committee will discuss energy issues in the return of the utility company.

“We hope with this, SESB could be restructured and meet the needs of the people of the state,” she said.

“The process of discussions will begin this year and we hope to see a win-win situation for both the state and federal government,” Yeo said, adding that the task force members would be formalised soon.

Declining to provide a specific time frame for the return of the utility company, she said they hoped to complete the process within two years as many technical and financial aspects had to be looked into.

The decision on whether the state government or a private entity would take over the utility company would be made in due course during the discussions, she said.

Yeo said with the hand-over, the federal government would be returning to the state its regulatory powers to set up a Sabah Energy Commission.

However, she assured that the federal government would continue to ensure that Sabah's power needs would be addressed.

“(This) Doesn’t mean we don’t do anything about the electricity supply in between. We can also improve in the meantime,” she added.

Yeo said the aim was to eventually see SESB become sustainable through a good financial model and operate with less losses in terms of theft and transmission, as well as through having an efficient distribution system.

She said the Chief Minister welcomed the federal decisions and hoped that Sabahans would benefit from the move to take back the utility company.

In 1984, the state government under Tan Sri Mohd Harris Salleh handed over the Sabah Electricity Board to the federal government in an effort to improve power generation in the state.

The federal government later asked Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) to take over operations. Despite high capital injections by the federal government, the utility company continued to suffer losses and public complaints.

KOTA KINABALU: The federal government has agreed in principle to return the ailing Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) to Sabah, 34 years after the state government ceded its powers over energy company.

Energy, Science Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin said Cabinet had agreed in principle to start the process of returning the utility company to the state.

Yeo, who met on Friday with Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal to convey the federal government's decision at his office here, said two special task forces – technical and financial - would be set up to start discussion and negotiation.  

The financial task force will involve the state, Finance Ministry and other relevant agencies, while the technical committee will discuss energy issues in the return of the utility company.

“We hope with this, SESB could be restructured and meet the needs of the people of the state,” she said.

“The process of discussions will begin this year and we hope to see a win-win situation for both the state and federal government,” Yeo said, adding that the task force members would be formalised soon.

Declining to provide a specific time frame for the return of the utility company, she said they hoped to complete the process within two years as many technical and financial aspects had to be looked into.

The decision on whether the state government or a private entity would take over the utility company would be made in due course during the discussions, she said.

Yeo said with the hand-over, the federal government would be returning to the state its regulatory powers to set up a Sabah Energy Commission.

However, she assured that the federal government would continue to ensure that Sabah's power needs would be addressed.

“(This) Doesn’t mean we don’t do anything about the electricity supply in between. We can also improve in the meantime,” she added.

Yeo said the aim was to eventually see SESB become sustainable through a good financial model and operate with less losses in terms of theft and transmission, as well as through having an efficient distribution system.

She said the Chief Minister welcomed the federal decisions and hoped that Sabahans would benefit from the move to take back the utility company.

In 1984, the state government under Tan Sri Mohd Harris Salleh handed over the Sabah Electricity Board to the federal government in an effort to improve power generation in the state.

The federal government later asked Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) to take over operations. Despite high capital injections by the federal government, the utility company continued to suffer losses and public complaints.

Source