Sarawak Seeks Power Supply Deals With Brunei And Singapore

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Sarawak utilities minister Stephen Rundi Utom says construction of hydroelectric dams like Bakun had not been in vain. (Bernama pic)PETALING JAYA: Mega hydroelectric dams in Sarawak have greater potential to generate revenue for the state government if talks on electricity supply to Brunei and Singapore are successful, said Sarawak utilities minister Stephen Rundi Utom.
Currently, Sarawak supplies electricity to Sabah and Kalimantan in Indonesia.
As such, the construction of mega hydroelectric dams in the state, such as Bakun, Murum and Baleh had not been in vain, he said.
The Sarawak state government had earlier taken full ownership of the Bakun hydroelectric plant, which began operating in 2011, from the federal government to generate hydropower income.
Stephen Rundi Utom.Bakun is capable of producing 1,700 megawatts (MW) to 2,110MW of electricity. The Murum dam, which started operating in 2015, is capable of producing between 635MW and 944MW.
The third hydropower station in Sarawak, the Baleh hydroelectric dam in Kapit, is expected to generate up to 1,285MW when operational in 2026. Work on the project started in 2018.
Rundi told Bernama that the Baleh plant was expected to further strengthen Sarawak’s efforts to develop renewable energy resources to meet demand from domestic industries as well as for export to neighbouring countries.
Earlier, chief minister Abang Johari Openg said state-owned Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) was also exploring the potential to generate electricity from solar power by building floating solar panels at hydroelectric dams.
When asked whether Sarawak needed to build more hydroelectric plants, he said this was not necessary at present because the state had sufficient energy supply. - FMT

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