By WU VUIDE
KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said Sabah’s energy transition initiatives can address energy supply security and pressures from rising global oil prices caused by the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
“The initiatives led by the Energy Commission of Sabah (ECoS), implemented a few years ago, were timely in helping Sabah face challenges arising from the conflict in West Asia,” he said.
Sabah’s energy security will be strengthened through a balanced and resilient energy development strategy he said when chairing the first Sabah Energy Council (MTS) meeting for 2026 at Menara Kinabalu.
“This includes leveraging the state’s natural gas resources, developing hydropower, adopting battery energy storage system (BESS) technology, as well as exploring pumped storage hydro projects as large-scale energy storage to enhance the flexibility and stability of Sabah’s grid system.
“Sabah is now moving towards increasing the use of renewable energy (RE) and natural gas as alternatives to diesel and marine fuel oil (MFO),” said Hajiji, who is also MTS chairman.
Hajiji said the development of the energy sector is a key foundation in attracting investments to drive industrial growth in Sabah, thereby creating employment opportunities for Sabahans.
He said Sabah recorded several key achievements in 2025, including the completion of the 100 megawatt/400 megawatt-hour BESS project in August 2025, the largest battery energy storage system in Southeast Asia, and the commissioning of the Sabah–Sarawak grid interconnection in December 2025, enabling the import of 50MW of electricity.
The improvement also contributed to a reduction in the system average interruption duration index (SAIDI) from 416 minutes in 2024 to 338 minutes in 2025, he said.
He added that the collapse of the 275kV Kolopis–Segaliud transmission tower in September last year highlighted the importance of sustainable generation development on the east coast, as well as the implementation of the southern link grid to enhance the reliability of Sabah’s grid system.
The meeting also approved intervention measures under the Sabah Rural Electrification Committee (JELaS) initiative to accelerate the achievement of 100 per cent rural electricity coverage, in line with the Sabah Energy Roadmap and Master Plan 2040 (SE-RAMP 2040), aimed at strengthening the resilience of the energy system through a balanced energy mix comprising renewable energy, natural gas and energy storage technologies.
In addition, efforts will be made to strengthen grid infrastructure through the southern link to enhance system reliability on Sabah’s east coast, he said.
Hajiji also announced the appointment of new members to the council, namely Works and Utilities Minister Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam, Industrial Development, Entrepreneurship and Transport Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick, and Sabah Energy Corporation chief executive officer Datuk Adzmir Abd Rahman.
Hajiji chairing the MTS meeting.
