Sabah's Power Plan Explained: Your Bill and Blackouts to 2035
What is Sabah's power plan in one paragraph?
SE-RAMP 2040, the Energy Commission of Sabah's 2023 plan, promises blackouts under 100 minutes a year and power for every rural home by 2030, a tariff that pays its own way by 2030, and more than 50% renewable capacity by 2035. In 2021 Sabah had 332 minutes of outages per customer, a 16% reserve margin and 86% of its electricity from gas.
What is SE-RAMP 2040?
SE-RAMP 2040 (Sabah Energy Roadmap and Master Plan 2040) is the state's plan for electricity, published in 2023 by the Energy Commission of Sabah (ECoS). It explains why Sabah's power supply is weak, sets seven targets for 2030 to 2050, and lists the projects meant to get there. The plan is to be reviewed every three years, so its targets may change.
Most of its figures describe 2021. Below, each target is shown with the latest progress we could find, dated, so you can see what has actually happened since.
What are the seven targets, and how far along are they?
SE-RAMP sets five state targets and adopts two national ones. Here they are with the 2021 starting point in the plan and the latest status.
| Target (deadline) | 2021, per SE-RAMP | Latest |
|---|---|---|
| Power cuts (SAIDI) below 100 minutes a year (end 2030) | 332.1 minutes | 226 minutes as of July 2026 (Chief Minister, Sep 2026) |
| 100% rural electrification (end 2030) | 98.3% | 96% (ECoS CEO, June 2025; likely a different basis). See rural electrification |
| "Sustainable" electricity tariff (end 2030) | Heavily subsidised | First tariff rise since 2014, on 1 Feb 2026 |
| Balanced fuel mix, HHI below 0.5 (end 2035) | 0.79 (2019) | No later official figure found |
| Renewables above 50% of capacity and 30% of energy (2035) | 7.3% of energy | 307 MW from renewables (Bernama, Jul 2026); no official % found |
| Low-carbon nation, national aim (2040) | No carbon inventory yet; one was to be set up in 2024 | No later update found |
| Carbon neutrality, national aim (2050) | Long-term | – |
Sabah's renewables target is more ambitious than the national one in the same plan: SE-RAMP compares it with a national target of 40% of capacity and 27% of energy by 2035.
Why does Sabah have so many blackouts?
The short answer: not enough spare generating capacity, and one main power line linking the west and east coasts. SE-RAMP says the reserve margin, the spare capacity above peak demand, fell from 36.0% in 2016 to 16.0% in 2021, against an industry standard of 30% to 35%. (The plan gives two figures for 2021: 16.0% in its reserve-margin chart, p.79, and 17.6% in its SESB quick facts, p.29.) When one plant trips, there is little to replace it, and whole areas go dark. The plan's own path aimed for a 28% margin in 2024–2025; the state government later reported 8% for 2024. The plan also calls the single 275 kV backbone to the east coast a security risk. More in why Sabah has so many power cuts and our Southern Link page.
| Measure | SE-RAMP figure | Latest figure |
|---|---|---|
| Average outage minutes per customer (SAIDI) | 777.3 (2014), 332.1 (2021) | 598 (2023) to 226 (July 2026), Chief Minister; SESB gave 207 for 2024 |
| Reserve margin | 16.0% (2021); planned 28% for 2024–2025, 30–35% by 2030 | 8% (2024), 19% (Aug 2026), 26% expected by end 2026 |
SAIDI has been counted in different ways. SE-RAMP notes that major incidents were excluded before 2021 and included from 2021, and the figures quoted by SESB and the state government since then do not always match. Treat the trend as more reliable than any single number.
Why did my electricity bill go up?
Because the tariff had not changed since 2014, while the cost of supplying power had risen. For 2022 to 2024 the approved cost of supply was 43.83 sen/kWh, but customers paid an average of 34.52 sen/kWh. The federal government covered the gap with subsidies worth 9.31 sen for every unit, about RM1,760 million over the three years.
From 1 February 2026, SESB raised the average base tariff to 39.70 sen/kWh. Homes pay 22.02 sen/kWh for the first 200 kWh a month and more for higher bands; see the full table on our utilities page, and our tariff and subsidy explainer for worked bill examples.
- How tariffs are now set: since January 2022 Sabah has used Incentive Based Regulation (IBR). The tariff is reviewed every three years, and fuel-cost changes can be passed through every six months.
- Where it is heading: SE-RAMP's target is a "sustainable electricity tariff" by the end of 2030, which means less subsidy. The plan says Sabah needs to explore a targeted subsidy programme for lower-income groups (p.108).
- Old rebate: a 1.20 sen/kWh rebate for homes using under 300 kWh a month ended in June 2018.
Where will Sabah's power come from by 2035?
Today, mostly gas. In 2021, 86% of Sabah's electricity came from natural gas, 6.7% from diesel and fuel oil, and 7.3% from renewables. The plan wants gas down to about 55% and renewables, mainly hydro, up to about 35% by 2035, from a system of 1,805 MW instead of 1,179 MW.
| Source | 2021 share | 2035 target |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 86.0% | 55.4% |
| Hydro | 4.6% | 28.6% |
| Other renewables (solar, biomass, biogas) | 2.7% | 6.6% |
| Battery storage | – | 6.6% |
| Imports (e.g. from Sarawak) | – | 2.8% |
| Diesel and fuel oil | 6.7% | – |
Source: SE-RAMP 2040, printed p.75. Shares of generation.
Sabah is gas-rich: it had over 11.67 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves in 2019, about 15% of Malaysia's. But in 2019 only 16% of Sabah's gas output went to power; 45% was exported and 37% went to petrochemical plants.
Which projects are being built?
| Project | What SE-RAMP (2023) said | Status as of September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Sarawak–Sabah interconnection (Lawas–Mengalong, 275 kV) | 30 MW, rising to 50 MW, for 15 years | Live since 13 Dec 2025, supplying up to 50 MW (Sarawak Energy). See power from Sarawak |
| Upper (Ulu) Padas hydro | 180 MW by 2029 | Re-approved May 2026 as 187.5 MW hydro (by end 2030) plus 150 MWac floating solar (by end 2031) |
| Southern Link, now the Sabah Southern Madani Link | Second 275 kV route to Tawau; Phase 2 by 2027 | Phase 1A (60 km, Mengalong to Upper Padas) 17% built in May 2026, due Sep 2028; Phase 1B (about 270 km to Tawau) not yet dated |
| Lahad Datu battery storage | New East Coast battery storage, 120 MW, planned for 2023–2025 | 100 MW / 400 MWh inaugurated 12 Dec 2025 |
| Large-scale solar | 113.9 MW awarded, 50 MW operating (2022); solar kept to 20–22% of peak demand | 450 MW programme: 200 MW under construction, 250 MW in bidding (Bernama, Jul 2026) |
| Telekosang hydro 1 and 2 | 40 MW, completed Feb 2023 | Operating |
| Tawau (Apas Kiri) geothermal | 30 MW plant abandoned Dec 2018; revival under review | No revival announced |
SE-RAMP also floats longer-term links to North Kalimantan in Indonesia and Palawan in the Philippines, which would let Sabah trade power across the BIMP-EAGA region. These are ideas, not projects, in the plan.
Who is responsible for delivering the plan?
The Energy Commission of Sabah (ECoS) regulates electricity in the state and wrote the plan. SE-RAMP sets up a Sabah Energy Council chaired by the Chief Minister, with ECoS as its secretariat, to track progress. Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB), majority-owned by Tenaga Nasional Berhad, runs the grid and bills customers.
The Chief Minister's September 2026 update on SAIDI and the reserve margin came after a Sabah Energy Council meeting. Our renewable energy page covers the solar, hydro and palm-waste targets in more detail, and our RMK13 page covers the federal plan's 40% renewable capacity target for 2030.
Every SE-RAMP number was checked against the printed page of the plan. Every "latest" figure comes from a dated 2025–2026 source listed below. Where official figures disagree, we show both.
Frequently asked questions
Q What is SE-RAMP 2040?
Q Why did the Sabah electricity tariff go up in 2026?
Q What is SAIDI?
Q Is the Sarawak-Sabah power link working?
Q When will Upper Padas dam be finished?
Sources & References 11 sources
Last verified: 27 September 2026
Progress since the plan (status as of September 2026)
- Malay Mail/Bernama, 21 Sep 2026: Sabah electricity reserve margin rises to 19pc Reserve margin 8% (2024), 19% (Aug 2026), 26% expected end-2026; SAIDI 598 minutes (2023) to 226 minutes (July 2026).
- The Star, 29 May 2025: Sabah cuts power outage duration by half SESB: SAIDI 207 minutes in 2024.
- Sarawak Energy, 24 Jan 2026: energisation of the Sarawak-Sabah interconnection Power flowing since 13 Dec 2025; up to 50 MW.
- The Star, 5 May 2026: revised approval for Sabah hydro-solar hybrid (Ulu Padas) 187.5 MW hydro by 31 Dec 2030; 150 MWac floating solar by 31 Dec 2031.
- The Star, 12 Jun 2026: Building a stronger power lifeline for Sabah Sabah Southern Madani Link Phase 1A: 60 km, RM198 million, 17% complete (26 May 2026), due 16 Sep 2028.
- Borneo Post, 28 Jun 2026: SSML strengthening energy security Phase 1B: about 270 km, Upper Padas to Kalumpang (Tawau).
- Energy-Storage.News, 12 Dec 2025: Malaysia’s first large-scale battery storage inaugurated in Sabah Lahad Datu BESS 100 MW / 400 MWh.
- The Star, 25 Jun 2025: Sabah's energy sector sees promising transformation under ECoS ECoS CEO: 96% rural electrification already achieved.
- Bernama, 20 Jul 2026: Sabah large-scale solar and renewable capacity 307 MW from renewables; 450 MW LSS programme (200 MW under construction, 250 MW in bidding).
- FMM circular SB/06/2026 (10 Feb 2026): new SESB tariff Average base tariff 34.52 to 39.70 sen/kWh from 1 Feb 2026.