TAWAU: Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) is allocating RM60 million for the development of a Distribution Automation (DA) system in 200 substations in the State over three years from 2022 to 2024.
SESB’s Chief Transformation Officer (CTO) Ahmad Nassaruddin Kamaruzaman said the project would continue next year until 2027 with the same amount of allocation in 200 more substations.
“We aim for this number to be increased for the next project in 2028 to 2030,” he told the media after visiting the DA project that was ready to be installed at the Tawau Hospital Main Switch Station (SSU), here.
Currently, he said, the system installation is gaining momentum and SESB expects by 2030 as many as 1,250 locations throughout Sabah and Labuan will be ready to be installed with the DA system.
According to him, the system has successfully helped reduce the electricity supply recovery period since used in 2018 as a proactive measure to strengthen the existing electricity supply system, especially involving uninsulated lines.
“This DA system has already been installed and operated in 500 strategic locations throughout the State and Labuan.
“This system has also succeeded in increasing supply reliability, operational efficiency, customer satisfaction and operational safety,” he added.
Ahmad Nasaruddin said the project will also be a stepping stone to the implementation of smart grid technology in the State.
Commenting further, he said, the installation of the system allows the electricity supply system to be operated directly from the Distribution Control Centre (DCC) in Kota Kinabalu.
“This means that in the event of a disruption at the location where the system is installed, the DCC can identify the damage and then take immediate action to restore the supply.
“Compared to before the existence of this DA system, the SESB technical team had to take quite a long time to find and repair the damage because they had to be on site and it would definitely cause inconvenience to the users,” he said.
According to him, one of the main advantages of the system installed in critical areas such as hospitals, State Legislative Assembly (DUN) and the Chief Minister’s office is to ensure continuous supply.
This includes in remote inland areas and congested areas so that supplies can be restored quickly without the movement of technical teams to the location involved, thus reducing the safety risk of its staff.
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