By Olivia Miwil
KOTA KINABALU: Electricity consumption in Sabah has surged by between 15 and 20 per cent over the past two months, driven largely by hot weather and festive usage, says Sabah Electricity (SE) chief executive officer Mohd Yaakob Mohd Jaafar.
He said many consumers were caught off guard by higher bills, but the increase was consistent with heavier electricity usage during the recent period.
"We anticipated this situation earlier, taking into account three key factors; the tariff adjustment, the Ramadan and Hari Raya period, and the ongoing hot weather.
"Electricity usage increases without consumers realising it. For example, during Ramadan, usage starts as early as 4am for sahur and continues late into the night with decorative lights, especially nearing Hari Raya," he said during the soft launch of the utility company's enhanced mobile application, MySE+ App, at its office at Wisma KWSP here.
On power supply, he assured that Sabah's electricity system remains stable, with a reserve margin of 21 per cent, sufficient to meet rising demand even during peak periods.
"Yesterday, we recorded a new maximum demand of 1,232MW, and we expect this could increase further if the hot weather continues.
"However, Alhamdulillah, the reserve margin we have now is adequate and capable of supporting the demand.
"Unlike previous years where supply concerns were prominent, we are now able to ride through without disruption," he said, adding that Sabah's total available generation capacity currently stands at about 1,500MW, including solar energy, although solar contributes only about five hours of effective generation daily.
On cost management amid rising fuel prices, Mohd Yaakob said SE has been optimising supply distribution between the east and west coasts of the state.
"The West Coast has excess capacity, while the East Coast traditionally faces a shortfall in reserve margin. Previously, we relied more on diesel-powered plants in the East Coast, which are costly.
"Now, we are transferring more electricity from the West Coast to the East Coast, increasing from about 220–300MW previously to 330MW.
"This allows us to reduce reliance on diesel generation and use cheaper gas-based energy instead," he said, adding the balancing strategy helps ensure sufficient supply across Sabah while managing generation costs more efficiently.
Commenting on the rollout of the company's new mobile application, he said it is meant to enhance customer experience through digital solutions.
Mohd Yaakob said digital payments through its previous app and online website had contributed about RM50 million in monthly collections, roughly a quarter of the company's RM200 million total monthly revenue.
The app is also designed to help consumers better manage electricity usage, report power outages and monitor live updates on restoration work, among others.
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