Banggi Island electricity supply challenge
Published on: Sat, Jun 07, 2025
By: Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau Text Size: BANGGI Island, located northeast of Kudat, Sabah, is Malaysia's largest island, spanning 447 square kilometres. It is nearly half the size of the state of Perlis and home to approximately 30,000 residents.
Advertisement Despite its strategic location and potential as a hub for rural development, the island is being confronted with a critical basic infrastructural issue affecting progress and in effect every aspect of daily life which is the availability of a stable and sustainable supply of electricity. Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to lead a working visit to Pulau Banggi with a delegation of Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (Sabah Electricity) staff members from Generation, Retail as well as the Northern Zone management. The basic objective of the visit was to assess the real situation of the island's energy infrastructure and assess the scope of the needed upgrades. The observation during the visit will contribute to a report which is being prepared for submission and presentation to the Federal Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW) in a series of important meetings this coming June.
Advertisement Banggi island has been the target of rural electrification initiatives By the federal government through KKDW since 2009. As part of Phase One of the project, KKDW implemented the Rural Electricity Supply Project (BELB) in 2009 which was a hybrid solar PV–diesel power station as an initiative to ensure a reliable electricity supply system to the island's residents, who had long endured unreliable and limited power access. This hybrid system, which combines renewable energy (solar) with conventional sources (diesel), was seen as a more efficient and cost-effective solution compared to relying solely on diesel. It marked a significant milestone in improving the quality of life for residents by providing 24-hour electricity. Later, in July 2011, the Second Phase of the project was implemented and successfully completed in January 2014. The project consisted of the installation of 1,000 kWp of solar panels and five diesel generator units with a combined capacity of 1,450 kW, complementing the existing 200 kWp system from Phase I. In 2015, the project was certified fit for operation and maintenance and subsequently handed over to Sabah Electricity to operate through a memorandum of agreement with KKDW. Under the agreement, all operational costs are paid by Sabah Electricity and later reimbursed by KKDW. And since there are 16 islands under similar operation, Sabah Electricity decided to privatize the operation and maintenance to a third party until today. As with any aging system which has been in operation for more than a decade, various issues have since emerged. Today, peak electricity demand on the island has significantly increased to as high as 932 kW during night-time hours—a significant increase from earlier years. Although the total installed capacity stands at around 2,600 kW (2,000 kW from diesel and 600 kW from solar), the system's actual performance is undermined by ageing equipment, degraded solar panels, failing battery storage systems, and outdated circuitry. For example, two diesel generators which were installed in 2009 are now experiencing frequent break down, largely because their operational lifespan has been exceeded. In its effort to manage rising demand, Sabah Electricity has taken proactive steps by dispatching two additional diesel generator units; one in 2017 and another in 2024. While this has provided temporary relief, it does not address the underlying problems of frequent breakdowns. At this juncture we think that a comprehensive system upgrade is urgently required to ensure long-term reliability. Therefore our visit to Banggi Island was not a mere tour of the facility; rather, it was also a fact-finding mission to determine immediate and long-term needs of the Sabah Electricity power generation Team led by the Chief of Generation Ir. Addie Ahmad. Among those who joined the delegation was YB Dato' Verdon Bahanda, the Member of Parliament for Kudat and his staff members whose insights and contributions were invaluable in contextualising the electricity supply situation. Other than Ir. Addie Ahmad, Sabah Electricity's Chief Generation Officer Ir. Addie Ahmad, I was also accompanied by the Northern Zone Manager Ir. Ts. Winches Maximillian Samuel, Kudat Area Manager Mohd Zulezwan Osman, and the Assistant District Officer (ADO) of Banggi Sub-District Jaslee Jaafar. Also present were local community leaders, who took the opportunity to give feedback and express the concerns and expectations of residents in their respective areas. Sabah Electricity is scheduled to present its initial report to KKDW on 3 June 2025, followed by a high-level meeting chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Rural and Regional Development, YAB Dato' Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, in Putrajaya on 26 June 2025. It is important to note that Pulau Banggi is one of 16 islands under the operational care of Sabah Electricity through the BELB hybrid energy system. Nine of these are located in Semporna, while six are in Sandakan. These are some of the socio-economic responsibilities that Sabah Electricity has to undertake in the form of national service as we do not make any money from this undertaking and yet we incur expenses in the form of overhead to manage, monitor and evaluate the current electricity supply systems. The tariff imposed in these islands is a mere 22 Sen per unit electricity, a far cry from the 34.2 Sen being imposed in the rest of Sabah. Centralised management under Sabah Electricity allows for more coordinated maintenance, better allocation of resources, and a higher standard of safety for equipment, personnel, and the general public. Our experiences in Banggi Island underscores a vital lesson: rural development is not just about building infrastructure, it is about maintaining it, upgrading it, and ensuring it evolves alongside the current needs of the populace. It is time we recognised electricity not merely as a basic utility, but as a powerful driver of rural progress. The people of Banggi Island and the other island communities across Sabah deserve access to reliable, efficient, and sustainable energy, just like their fellow citizens on the mainland. Investing in infrastructure upgrades in places like Banggi Island is not just a response to current demand; it is a forward-looking commitment to empowering communities and securing a brighter future for generations to come.
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