April 26, 2009 - (MIRI) At least 10,000 megawatts of electricity from the RM6bil Bakun hydro-electric dam project in central Sarawak will be supplied to Peninsular Malaysia so that every state there will have adequate and uninterrupted power supply for households and industries.
The Cabinet decided on Wednes-day that the undersea power transmission cable project between the southern tip of Sarawak and Johor must proceed so that electricity from Bakun can be channelled via the bed of the South China Sea to Johor and then to the rest of the peninsula.
Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui said the Cabinet had agreed last week it would be better to undertake the project rather than to continue building new power plants in the peninsula.
“In the long term, it will be more economical and viable to transmit power from Bakun to Peninsular Malaysia even though the undersea cable project will be very costly,” he said when interviewed after presenting grants for minor projects at the Sarawak United People’s Party here.
Chin said that the 10,000 MWs from Bakun should be enough to meet the needs of the whole of the peninsula, but stressed that the amount could be increased as and when the need arises.
On who would handle the project, Chin said a joint venture would be undertaken by Tenaga Nasional Bhd and the Sarawak Electricity Board.
The cost of the undersea-cable project has not been finalised as yet, he said.
