LET ALL SABAH RE PRODUCERS ENJOY FIT

By : CHAN FOONG HIN

DAP Sabah questions SEDA again, this time on the incentives enjoyed by the Renewable Energy (RE) producers in the state. Not only allocation of FiT for Solar PV is highly questionable, also worrying is the fact that out of 377 applications under the FiT on all kind of RE, only 5 projects are Sabah based. Furthermore, other biomass and biogas operators in future based in the state are not eligible for FiT.

Given the biggest oil palm plantation land in the country, biogas and biomass are sources of RE which are plentiful in Sabah. Earlier in this year, Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin confirmed that not all oil palm biomass plant operators in Sabah get to enjoy the 32 sen per kWh under the FiT (Feed in Tariff).

According to Chin, only five green power producers are eligible because they are already operating commercially, as of December 2011.

Among the five green power producers in Sabah eligible for FiT are TSH Bio-Energy Sdn Bhd (in Tawau), Kinabio Power Sdn Bhd and Seguntor Power (in Sandakan). There is also Esajadi Power Sdn Bhd which operates two mini-hydropower plants along two rivers at Kota Belud and Kota Marudu. Collectively, they generate 36.5MW.

The other biomass and biogas operators in Sabah are not eligible for FiT, they will only be paid the rates under TNB's Small Renewable Energy Projects. It means those power plants have to contend with 21cent per kWh instead of the promised 32 cent per kWh under FiT.

SEDA try to justify their decision by saying that “We cannot always expect heavy power users in Peninsular Malaysia to pay for the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) benefits enjoyed by eligible green power producers in Sabah” (as quoted by it's CEO Badriyah Abdul Malek). SEDA is in talks with the Sabah Government to contribute to the RE Fund, as heavy power users in the state are not contributing to it.

Currently, electricity consumers in Peninsular Malaysia, who use more than 350 kilowatt per hour (kWh) or whose monthly bills exceed RM77, pay an additional one per cent RE levy. Manufacturers, which make up more than 40 per cent of TNB's clientele, are the ones hit hardest by the RE levy. Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) started collecting this money from December 2011.

Sabah and Labuan had just experienced a 15 per cent tariff hike to 29.25 sen per kWh, in July 2011. The Sabah government appealed for a delay in RE Fund collection as it would be too taxing on consumers here.

Therefore, DAP Sabah in the opinion that SEDA should abolish the limit imposed to the numbers of RE producers in the state. Encouraging more RE producers operate in Sabah and tap into the national grid, is among the feasible solutions to solve the problems of critical power demand in the state. If Sabah power consumers never receive any compensation from the related authority even though substantial losses caused by critical power failure and interruption, DAP Sabah urge Chin to allow SEDA to allocate FiT to all kind of RE producers, especially biomass and biogas based power plants in the state, to end the blackout problems which haunted all Sabahans so far.