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SESB managing director Abd Razak Sallim said the Department of Environment made the finding after conducting research and studies.
The project, which is located about 5km from the town centre and has a generating capacity of 64MW, had received protest from nearby residents of Taman Milenium due to what they claim as too close to the housing estate.
Abd Razak said SESB and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) had to find a more stable supply of electricity with the cancellation of the construction of coal power plants in the east coast of Sabah.
An alternative solution was identified immediately upon the termination, which is undertaking the construction of gas turbine generators worth RM80 million at the Power Station (SJ) Kubota, East Road, Tawau.
In a press statement yesterday, he said the justification of the project at Kubota Power Station is a short-term project which is especially critical to the stability of electric supply in the east coast division which at this point imports 16MW to 164MW of electricity per day from the west coast.
Abd Razak said the capacity of existing electricity generation (power stations in Tawau) can only generate 64MW per day compared to the peak load demand (peak demand), which has reached 80MW and is expected to increase to 96MW in 2015.
The project is categorized under “Fast Track” and is very important to be implemented as soon as possible, he said, given that the new power stations for larger capacity such as SJ Kimanis Power (300MW), SJ SPR Energy (100MW) and LNG (300MW) are expected to be fully operational only in 2014 and 2016.
“At present SESB and TNB are working hard to ensure the SJ Kubota project will begin operations in June 2012,” he added.
He said with the establishment of the power station in the future, it would help reduce the impact of supply disruptions in the area, especially when there are any problems or unforeseen events on the Sabah Grid Interconnection which is also the only export transmission lines for supply to the east coast.
He said a more stable supply of electricity would be able to contribute to the increase of investment to generate a more vibrant economic development in the east coast.
The project, he said, would also contribute to the smooth running of business operations management and daily living needs of local communities.
“SESB would like to emphasize that the location was chosen based on the following factors such as the site is owned by SESB since the 90s, it does not involve the process of land acquisition which will take some time,” he said.
He said it is the main site intake (main substation) and therefore can reduce costs and simplify and expedite the delivery of logistics.
The station will not operate at all times and will only operate during peak load which is usually between 8am to 6pm on weekdays.
