The recent power blackout
in Sabah raises several pertinent questions.
First of all, this type of
power blackout is not uncommon in many parts of the world and is known as the
cascading failure of power grids or power cascading.
For example, under certain
conditions a large power grid can collapse after the failure of a single
transformer.
Cascading failure causes
power outages and plunges many cities around the world into darkness from time
to time.
Some of the major
incidences occurred in:
Northeast America in 1965
Southern Brazil in 1999
Italy in 2003
Northeast America in 2003 (2nd major outage)
London in 2003
Northern India in 2012
S
o, this is not a problem that happened only in
Sabah.
But why is it happening
frequently? That’s the question that must be answered.
On 25 Jan 2012: A massive blackout in Sabah
and Labuan when a main substation tripped in Beaufort. More than 100,000 people
affected.
On 1 May
2012: Pre-dawn fire by explosion at Penampang
power distribution centre. Some 500,000 people affected.
On 5 Dec 2012: Generator
Malfunction at power plant in Sepanggar. Factories and industrial outlets
affected.
On 25 Sept
2013: A series of incidents at 3 major power
stations cripple electricity supply. More than 500,000 people affected.
On 17 Jan
2014: Massive blackout occurs and affects more
than 500,000 people.
The press today quoted
Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Dr Maximus Johnity Ongkili as
saying that based on preliminary findings by Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd
engineers, the blackout should not have
happened.
He has directed Tenaga
Nasional Berhad (TNB) and the Energy Commission (EC) to carry out an immediate
probe.
Now, could this possibly be an act of
sabotage?
Since 2012, the State
Government has instructed Sabah Electricity to take all necessary precautionary
measures to prevent similar incidences.
There was a SOP that
determined ways in which power blackouts could be prevented.
But despite all necessary
measures in place, the incident took place, leaving the state authorities and
power company executives scratching their heads.
To leave no stones unturned,
one must look into the stories of the past concerning the issue of power
generation in Sabah.
In
2011, the State Government cancelled a RM1.3 billion coal-fired power plant in
Lahad Datu following widespread protests.
The Government did this
after listening to various groups, residents, NGOs and all kinds of so-called
groups advocating environmental issues but actually backed by Opposition
parties.
Now, what is wrong with coal?
Coal has long been the biggest source of electricity
in the United States. As of to date, around 35% of electricity is generated in
United States using coal.
If coal was a terrible choice for generating power as
claimed by Malaysian Opposition-backed NGOs, then why would US, with its
stringent environmental policies, use coal?
TNB generates
electricity at its Manjung power plant in Perak and a few other stations using
coal. It is also building two more coal-fired 1000MW power plants in Manjung to
meet increasing demands.
On one side, the NGOs linked to Opposition
parties are objecting the construction of a coal-power plant and on the other
hand, are condemning the authorities for power supply problems.
These NGOs are pushing for
natural gas powered power plants but that is also a non-renewable energy source
(fossil fuel) and in today’s market condition, gas prices are rising sharply
and cost significantly more than coal.
Sabah Chief Minister Datuk
Seri Musa Hj Aman was recently quoted as saying that the government was looking
into new renewable energy derived from wind, solar and geothermal as future
energy sources for Sabah.
The state is already
building a RM500 million geothermal power plant in Apas Kiri, Tawau and is the
first of its kind in Malaysia.
The State Government,
under Musa, has bend backwards to accommodate the requests of the people.
But the world over, coal is still king in power
generation.
It advantages include its reliability, affordability,
abundance, known technologies, safety, and efficiency.
One of the greatest advantages of coal fired plants is
reliability.
Coal’s ability to supply power during peak power demand
either as base power or as off-peak power is greatly valued as a power plant
fuel.
It is with this fact that advanced pulverized coal fired
power plants are designed to support the grid system in avoiding blackouts.
Energy produced from coal fired plants is cheaper and more
affordable than other energy sources.
Since coal is abundant, it is definitely cheap to produce
power using this fuel. Moreover, it is not expensive to extract and mine from
coal deposits.
Consequently, its price remains low compared to other fuel
and energy sources.
There are approximately over 300 years of economic coal
deposits still accessible.
With this great amount of coal available for use, coal
fired plants can be continuously fueled in many years to come.
The production and use of coal as a fuel are well
understood, and the technology required in producing it is constantly
advancing.
Moreover, coal-mining techniques are continuously enhanced
to ensure that there is a constant supply of coal for the production of power
and energy.
Generally, coal fired plants are considered safer than
nuclear power plants. A coal power plant's failure is certainly not likely to
cause catastrophic events such as a nuclear meltdown would.
A coal power plant still
remains as a cheaper alternative for Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB).
This brings us back to issues of sabotage
and ‘sly fox’ tactics deployed by the Opposition to whack the state government in the wake of this power blackout.
First, the Opposition
cried foul over the planned Lahad Datu coal power plant.
Then when Sabah is
struggling to find a solution for its energy problems, they run down the state
government for failing to find a solution to its power woes.
WHAT IF THE FREQUENT BLACKOUTS ARE 'ENGINEERED'
WITH ‘INSIDE HELP’ TO DISCREDIT THE STATE GOVERNMENT?