Solar Installation in Sabah or Sarawak: Check State Rules and Installer Coverage
Decision details
Fits if: Residential customers in Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and across Sabah/Sarawak weighing rooftop solar under SESCO or the SESB distribution network.
Main drawback: Subsidy/rebate figures are authority-stated programme terms, not a guarantee your application passes or funds remain at your date. Export value rides on the gazetted tariff energy rate at the time, not a fixed number.
Compare: your state and utility; supply phase; system kWac against state caps (not Peninsula caps); programme closing dates; whether you want export (NEMSS/Solar Rakyat) or pure self-consumption (SELCO); quota status before paying any deposit.
In this guide
Why the state decides everything
The Sarawak grid (Sarawak Energy/SESCO) and the Sabah distribution network (SESB under ECoS) are not under the same schemes as the Peninsula. Incentive numbers, capacity caps and export credit methods all differ — so the first step is not collecting quotes but making sure the installer drafts your quote under your state’s scheme.
Confirm installer coverage before comparing prices
“Do you serve Sabah/Sarawak?” needs a town- or district-level answer, not just an office address or a claim of “nationwide coverage.” Before paying for a visit or deposit, get written answers to these points:
| Check | What to request in writing |
|---|---|
| Service area | State, town/district and postcode accepted; whether a visit to your address is included in scope |
| Site team | Who surveys, installs and handles utility steps; disclose if the work is assigned to a local contractor |
| Location charges | Any travel, accommodation or site-visit charges, and whether they are credited if you proceed |
| Programme responsibility | Name the proposed state scheme, who prepares documents, and who confirms eligibility/approval |
| After-sales | Contact for service, inspection and workmanship/product claims; put the actual offered scope and term in the contract |
An office in the state does not prove a team can reach your site. Likewise, an installer confirming that it can travel there does not prove your state-scheme application will be approved. This guide does not verify Sabah or Sarawak coverage for any named provider.
| Item | Sarawak (NEMSS) | Sabah (Solar Rakyat) | Sabah (SELCO-PV 2.0) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incentive | Subsidy RM8,000 / RM10,000 / RM12,000 by band 2–3.5 / >3.5–6 / >6–50 kWac [source] | Rebate RM1,000/kWac, max RM4,000 from 4 kWac [source] | No rebate stated; self-consumption focus |
| Window | Contracts signed 1 Jan 2025 – 31 Dec 2026 [source] | Applications 2026–2028 or until funds used [source] | Guidelines effective 1 March 2026 [source] |
| Capacity caps | Bands up to 50 kWac in the subsidy table [source] | Single-phase ≤5 kWac; three-phase ≤10 kWac [source] | Grid-connected for full self-consumption [source] |
| Export | NEM scheme (credit per state contract terms) | Allowed within first 12 years of operation; credited at the gazetted tariff energy rate [source] | NOT allowed; BESS permitted but stored energy cannot be exported [source] |
Workflow before paying a deposit
- Confirm your state utility on the bill (Sarawak Energy in Sarawak; a SESB account in Sabah, with ECoS programme rules). Everything after depends on it.
- Pick the scheme class: export with incentives (Sarawak NEMSS / Sabah Solar Rakyat) or self-consumption without export (Sabah SELCO). Your daytime usage pattern decides the relative value.
- Check quota and closing dates at the official source before paying a deposit — Sarawak’s subsidy is tied to the 2025–2026 contract window [source]; Sabah’s funds run until used [source]. Installers can help file, but live fund status is a fact you verify yourself at the official source.
- Size against state caps. Example: a Sabah three-phase home planned at 12 kWac exceeds the 10 kWac Solar Rakyat cap [source] — redesign or choose a different route. Do not pay for panels first.
- Ask for the quote to name the state scheme in the document — not a verbal “same as the Peninsula”.
- Match the scope and responsible parties to the coverage checks above; do not pay a deposit until service area, location charges, application responsibility and the after-sales contact are clear in writing.
Common East-Malaysia buyer traps
- Quotes copied from the Peninsula: check the applicable state fees, capacity and programme terms. Sabah Solar Rakyat limits three-phase capacity to 10 kWac [source]; do not substitute Peninsula ATAP terms.
- SELCO systems pitched as selling surplus: under SELCO-PV Sabah 2.0, surplus generation may not be exported [source] — “sell back to grid” is not a feature of that scheme.
- Assuming the subsidy is automatic: Sarawak NEMSS is first-come-first-served and one installation per account holder [source]; Sabah’s rebate runs until funds are exhausted [source].
After approval
Record application, approval and commissioning dates; keep the state contract with the quote. For Sabah, the 12-year export window starts from contract operation [source]. If selling later, ask the utility about the applicable account/contract transfer terms. This page has not measured a house resale value or established that remaining benefits transfer to a buyer.
Frequently asked questions
How can I check whether a solar installer serves my town in Sabah or Sarawak?
Ask in writing whether they accept projects in your town/district and postcode, who will visit to survey and install, who handles utility or state-scheme steps, and who is your local contact after installation. Ask for travel or site-visit charges as separate quote items. This guide does not verify any company's coverage; provider coverage and official programme eligibility are separate checks.
Does the Peninsula's Solar ATAP apply in Sabah/Sarawak?
No — the Borneo grids are run by their state utilities. Sarawak: Sarawak Energy's NEMSS scheme with tiered subsidies RM8,000/RM10,000/RM12,000 by kWac band for new contracts 1 Jan 2025–31 Dec 2026 [source]. Sabah: ECoS's Solar Rakyat programme and SELCO-PV 2.0 [source] [source]. A quote drafted on Peninsula ATAP terms must be corrected before signing.
How much is the Sarawak subsidy and who qualifies?
Sarawak Energy lists residential NEMSS subsidies of RM8,000 for 2–3.5 kWac, RM10,000 for above 3.5–6 kWac, and RM12,000 for above 6–50 kWac; new NEM contracts must be signed between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2026, subject to quota and approval [source]. The 2025 media release states it is for successful NEM installations from 2026 under the Domestic tariff for landed residential property, one installation per account holder, first-come-first-served [source].
Does Sabah have a rebate like SuRIA?
It has its counterpart: the Sabah Solar Rakyat rebate of RM1,000 per kWac installed, capped at RM4,000 from 4 kWac, open 2026–2028 or until funds are used [source]. Capacity caps under the Solar Rakyat guidelines: single-phase no more than 5 kWac and three-phase no more than 10 kWac; surplus energy may be exported within the first 12 years of contract operation, credited at the gazetted tariff energy rate [source].
What if I do not want to export at all?
Sabah has the SELCO-PV 2.0 route: grid-connected PV for fully self-consumption — surplus generation may NOT be exported; BESS may be installed alongside but stored energy also cannot be exported [source]. Compare against the rebate/export route before choosing — one rejects export entirely, the other credits exports for a limited term.