SANDAKAN – The Sabah government has unveiled a prepaid electricity system designed to tackle electricity theft within squatter settlements, with its initial rollout in Kg Forest.
Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) chief executive officer Mohd Yaakob Jaafar explained that this pilot project serves as a temporary solution to address the power theft issue while awaiting government action on squatter settlements across the state.
“While we wait for direction from the government regarding the squatter status, SESB cannot always suffer losses, we have to take care of our returns,” he said when met by reporters after his visit to Kg Forest, yesterday.
SESB has incurred losses of RM4 million from power theft from January to August this year, with RM21 million lost in 2022.
Reports of power theft have surged by 98%, from 473 cases in 2021 to 935 cases in 2022, predominantly involving squatter settlements.
“Although it’s an impermanent interim project, it is still able to reduce incurred losses,” he said.
Kg Forest prepaid electricity system
SESB has invested RM3.5 mil in new poles, prepaid metres, and wiring for Kg Forest.
This project was initially announced by the former works minister Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin in July last year, but it was only recently implemented.
Previously, Bung Moktar revealed that the Energy Commission had granted an independent power distributor licence to Syarikat Village Support Services Sdn Bhd (VSSSB) to purchase power in bulk from SESB for a ten-year supply to Kg Forest. This approval was dated June 15, 2022.
It was disclosed that VSSSB has full autonomy over power connections at Kg Forest without SESB’s involvement, and the company will continuously monitor its infrastructure to prevent vandalism that could disrupt supply to other users.
After running for a month, the pilot project has provided power to 458 houses, regardless of their citizenship status, with a total of 1,200 Kg Forest households registering for the service.
Yaakob anticipates that given the pilot project’s success in Kg Forest, it will be expanded to other areas of Sabah, including squatter settlements in Sepanggar (behind 1Borneo Hypermall) and Batu Sapi.
“This expansion aims to ensure the safety of people and their properties, preventing illegal thefts. In addition to electricity supply, we are also installing safe wiring within the houses,” he explained, expressing hope that such initiatives will secure a reliable power supply for SESB users in various regions.
Temporary solution for squatter power theft
Kg Forest, just a short drive from Sandakan town, remains unclassified as a village, rendering it ineligible for power supply from SESB.
Statistics from the Sabah Local Government and Housing Ministry indicate that there are approximately 31,470 houses within 224 squatter colonies throughout the state, a number expected to increase.
Power theft cases not only pose financial losses for the Sabah government but also jeopardise people’s safety due to illegal and dangerous cable connections.
In 2015, a firefighter tragically lost his life due to electrocution while battling a bushfire near a squatter settlement in Sandakan, where the fire hose he held came into contact with a live illegal connection.
In 2021, a man was found dead in a drain in Sandakan, believed to have been electrocuted while attempting to steal power cables.
Several fire incidents in squatter settlements have been attributed to poorly installed wiring for illegal power connections, according to firefighters.
Given these circumstances, the government’s decision to provide legal electricity access to squatters, regardless of their citizenship status, becomes crucial in curbing desperate acts of power theft.
The prepaid electricity system represents one of the ways the government is addressing this issue, allowing squatter communities to legally access and pay for their electricity, thus reducing instances of power theft. – November 1, 2023.