Hydroelectric for rural village in Pensiangan, Sabah

Kg. Simohong and Kg. Karampalon are two of the many rural villages in Pensiangan. Located at the intersection of Sungai Simohong and Sungai Tagol, these 2 villages have a population of 132 inhabitants, with 20 houses, a church, and a Pusat Pembangunan Kanak-kanak.

Only 45% of the houses in Kg. Simohong and Kg. Karampalon have generators. Each generator uses up about 2 to 3 litre of petrol/diesel a night. A litre of fuel costs about RM4 in Pensiangan. Some houses have solar-powered lights but these lights usually only last for less than a year.

Our proposed power house is located about 350 meters from the SIB church. After consulting Light-up Borneo, we decided to install a 3-phase 7.5kw synchronous generator (415avc), supported by automatic voltage regulator and load control panel.

Total pipes required:

• 10 pieces 6-inch PVC pipes class B (60 meter).
• 43 pieces 4-inch PVC pipes class D (258 meter).
• 50 meters 3-inch HDPE pipes PN12.

Total cables and wires required:

• 11 rolls of 35 mm² aluminium cable to connect the power house and the main switch box.
• 9 rolls of 20mm² aluminium cable to connect the distribution box to each house.
• 10 mm² steel wire will be used to hang the transmission cable across Sg. Tagol to reach Kg. Simohong.

With this setup, each house will be getting around 340watt of electricity, 5 sockets and 3 bulbs. This would be sufficient to light up all the lights in the houses and no one will be living in the dark anymore. This sustainable energy would be able to supply enough power for at least 5 years under proper care.