Power for peak shaving

With the economy in Malaysia growing at 7.7 per cent and demand for electricity growing at the same rate, Malaysia Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) realised they were going to have to ramp up their energy output.

They had plans to build a 300 MW independent power plant, but knew they were going to have outages, particularly during peak demand, before the new plant could hang its ‘Open for Business’ sign. They needed to manage power consumption during peak hours, and they needed to do it straight away.

We were chosen because we had the shortest lead time of any supplier. Our rapid response time, along with our extensive experience in rental installations and short-term power packages, convinced SESB we were the best people for the job.

We built a 15 MW 20 kV power package with generator transformers, bulk fuel tanks, and a control room in just three weeks. The package was operated by our technicians at full capacity for 12 hours a day during the peak time, and in standby mode for the other 12.

It was a win-win situation: SESB reduced their operating costs as they no longer had to supply peak amounts of power during high-load working hours. Local users could save on electricity bills by managing their consumption and shifting their electricity demands to cheaper, off-peak periods.

The predicted outages were avoided allowing local businesses to go about their daily activities and the economy to continue its growth path. Our package also allowed SESB to concentrate on long term plans, while we managed power consumption on their behalf.