KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor emphasised that the state government's assumption of regulatory power over electricity and renewable energy is a pivotal step toward establishing a solid plan for a reliable energy supply in Sabah.
Hajiji highlighted that this initiative is poised to contribute significantly to the state's socio-economic development by ensuring the availability of adequate, stable, affordable, and sustainable energy supply.
"This aligns with the objectives outlined in the Sabah Energy Roadmap and Master Plan 2040 (SE-RAMP 2040), which was developed by the Energy Commission of Sabah (ECoS) and launched in September last year to support the Sabah Maju Jaya roadmap," he said in a statement.
Hajiji said the Sabah government, through ECoS, will ensure that the process of taking over the power of electricity supply regulation is carried out effectively and in an orderly manner without any disruption to stakeholders in the state's electricity supply industry.
He said the initiative was also part of the devolution of power under the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63).
The State Legislative Assembly passed three Bills in a special sitting today that paved the way for Sabah to officially gain regulatory power over the electricity supply sector and renewable energy from the Federal Government.
The Bills were Electricity Supply 2024, Renewable Energy 2024 and Energy Commission of Sabah (Amendment) 2024.
"Upon gazettement of the enactments, ECoS will be the authority that regulates the electricity supply sector and renewable energy in Sabah with immediate effect," he said, adding that ECoS has already gained regulatory power over the on-shore gas supply sector since Jan 10 last year.