Sabah to develop gas power plants in Sandakan and Tawau

The Sabah government plans to develop gas-based power plants in Sandakan and Tawau to replace high-cost diesel and Medium Fuel Oil (MFO) usage. This initiative aims to strengthen the electricity supply and improve generation reliability in the East Coast of Sabah.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Haji Noor announced that the state is also planning to increase capacity through Large Scale Solar (LSS) and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) via competitive bidding. These measures are intended to support the Sabah Energy Roadmap and Action Plan (SE-RAMP 2040), which targets a 50 percent renewable energy capacity mix by 2035.

Recent data indicates improvements in the state's electricity supply performance since Sabah assumed regulatory control. The generation reserve margin is expected to reach 26 percent by the end of the year, up from 19 percent in August and a low of 8 percent in 2024. Additionally, the System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) improved from 598 minutes in 2023 to 226 minutes as of July this year.