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| Power to Brunei by 2012 - Thursday, March 04, 2010 at 23:44 |
| by Geryl Ogilvy Ruekeith February 18, 2010, Thursday Sultanate has option to buy electricity at competitive rate from state’s hydropower projects KUCHING: Sarawak is likely to become Brunei’s electricity supplier beginning 2012; that is if the indications of a feasibility study are anything to go by.In the feasibility study of the Power Interconnection System Project between the Brunei government and Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB), there have been such indications. The study showed that Sarawak has the capacity to supply Brunei with a total of 100MW of electricity by 2012, and the state can also increase its capacity to 150MW by 2013. For the next subsequent years, supply could also be increased by 50MW yearly based on a ‘take-or-pay’ model, the study revealed. Brunei has the option to buy electricity at competitive rate from the state’s 275kV grid emanated from specific hydropower projects. These projects in Limbang, Trusan and Lawas river basins are still under consideration. Brunei may also choose to import power from a specific hydro-electric dam such as the Limbang II project. During the handing-over ceremony of the feasibility study yesterday, Public Utilities Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was already signed between the Brunei Electricity Service Department (JPE) and the Prime Minister‘s Department (representing the sultanate) and Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB). The MoU was signed at Bandar Seri Begawan on May 7 last year. “In the MoU, the three parties involved will collaborate on generation, connection and distribution of power, and also management of electricity supplies between the Brunei government and the state,” said Tengah who is also Second Minister of Planning and Resource Management. He added that the first phase of the project would see the erection of a transmission line between the two countries spanning about 40km from Tudan sub-station in Miri (using the 275KV cable) all the way to Kuala Belait. The second phase is power export from Limbang in 2015 through Limau Manis or Batu 18 in Limbang, he said. “The feasibility study for the Limbang I and Limbang II projects is complete. The project will be located about 136km from the estuary of the Limbang river. It will generate a power capacity of three times 15MW while Limbang II would generate a power capacity of four times 50MW. The site however will be 151km from the same river estuary,” he said. Tengah then disclosed that the state intended to develop the Brunei-Sabah-Sarawak regional grid to link Limbang and Lawas to Brunei (through Temburong) and Sabah. In addition, technical studies have also been done at five potential areas for the setting up of hydro-electric dams in Baleh, Baram, Lawas, Limbang and Pelagus. “Based on development planning, SEB will increase its power generating capacity in these five areas. They will certainly complement Bakun dam and the soon-to-be completed Murum dam. “By 2015, the state hopes that it could generate more than 6,000MW to cater for the needs of Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score); the interconnection project with Brunei and the potential export to Peninsular Malaysia,” he said. Tengah also said he hoped that the interconnection project would pave the way for more collaboration between the two countries in future. The minister also hoped that various other sectors such as health, education, telecommunications, agricultural and tourism could be included in the collaborations. Brunei’s Energy Minister Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Major General (Rtd) Dato Seri Pahlawan Awang Mohammad Daud, who also spoke at the ceremony, said interconnection was first mentioned at the signing ceremony of the heads of Asean Power Utilities and Authorities (HAPUA) and also at the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Association (BIMP-EAGA) business council forum in the late 1980s. “Then, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Interconnection Master Plan researches were conducted in 2003 followed by the Trans-Borneo Power Grid Development and Energy Trading in 2005. These researches were done to realise the Asean 2020 vision of having a power grid interconnection between its countries,” Mohammad said. He also stated that the interconnection project was not something new as the same strategic collaboration had been done between other Asean countries. He welcomed the move as a positive step towards strengthening the unity of Asean members. A joint committee would be established by both parties not only to manage the interconnection project but also in response to Tengah’s proposal of having much more collaborations on developing various sectors in both states. He suggested that these joint-committee meetings would be held alternately between both countries. The establishment of the joint-committee would be done as soon as possible after further discussion and agreement by both sides. Among those present at the ceremony held at Pullman Hotel here yesterday were State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohd Morshidi Abdul Ghani, Assistant Ministers of Public Utilities (Water Supply) Sylvester Entri Muran and Dr Stephen Rundi Utom as well as SEB Chairman Datuk Abdul Hamed Sepawi, its CEO Torstein Dale Sjotveit and members of the Brunei delegate including Deputy Permanent Secretary Awang Ismail Paduka Hashim and JPE acting director Umar Muhd Tahir. Source : http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=11151 |