SEB gearing up for power competition
by Justin Yap, justinyap@theborneopost.com. Posted on September 19, 2012, Wednesday
ON TRACK: Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud (centre) looks at the new corporate identity for SEB. Looking on are Sjotveit (left), Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu (second left), Second Minister of Resource Planning and Management Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan (second right) and SEB chairman Datuk Amar Abdul Hamed Sepawi.
KUCHING: Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) sees intense competition for power among its customers as the entire firm output of both Bakun and the Murum dams has been sold out to solid industries at attractive prices coupled with reasonable inflation clauses.
Only a small amount of power from its next big project, the 600 megawatt (MW) coal fired plant at Balingian, remained available for sale, SEB chief executive officer Torstein Dale Sjotveit said during the opening of SEB head office and the launching of its new corporate identity yesterday.
The most recent Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score) tariffs were around 50 per cent higher than those discussed three years ago, he pointed out.
Sarawak has now signed firm agreements with Tokuyama Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Tokuyama), Asia Minerals Ltd, Press Metal Bhd, OM Holdings Ltd and PT PLN from Indonesia for a combined total of 1,800MW.
In addition, SEB has also signed term sheet agreements with a further three customers for an additional 600MW.
“We have not only secured all the energy, but we have also sold it to companies bringing billions of ringgit of investment and thousands of new jobs to Sarawak,” Sjotveit highlighted.
To recap, SEB recently sealed a power-purchase agreement (PPA) with Tokuyama for a 10-year supply and sale of 140MW to its Phase-1 polycrystalline silicon manufacturing plant in Samalaju Industrian Park.
With the conclusion of the PPA for Phase-1, combined with the impending power requirement for Phase-2 amounting to 220MW, SEB has firmly secured sales of about 1,800MW from both Bakun (1,771MW) and Murum (635MW) hydroelectric projects (HEP).
To cater to the increasingly strong demand from new potential Score investors, SEB has embarked into the next phase of its generation capacity expansion which includes the potential development of Baram HEP.
Moving forward, its Murum project is now 75 per cent completed, with production to start early 2014, while the Balingian coal fired plant in Mukah area is due to commence construction in 2013, with production to start in late 2015.
“In the transmission area, we are about to start construction of a RM3 billion investment programme to build the 500kV backbone system – reinforcing the infrastructure along Sarawak from Bintulu to Kuching, which will be finished in stages from late 2014 to late 2015,” Sjotveit revealed.
“We also have developed a long list of future generation projects, both in hydro, where we have firm plans for both Baram and Baleh hydro projects as well as Northen Region and with coal projects in Mukah and Merit Pila,” he added.
SEB was also looking at new gas projects in Bintulu, Samalaju and Miri according to him.
“SEB fully embraces its role as a catalyst for growth in the Score project and we are proud to achieve another significant milestone in the push towards a high income economy by 2020,” he concluded.
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