Bakun to supply power to peninsula by 2025?

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BELAGA: The Bakun Hydroelectric Power Plant may supply electricity to Peninsular Malaysia come 2025.

Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Maximus Ongkili said the federal government will have a serious discussion with the state government on the initial plan to sell energy to Peninsular Malaysia.

“The exporting of energy from Bakun to Peninsular Malaysia is still under planning with the potential year being 2025, about 10 years from now and that is also based on the capacity of the state and other plans of the Sarawak government,” he told reporters after a working visit to Bakun on Thursday.

“So far the plan to export the power to Sabah has yet to be further discussed due to the high cost of transmission.”

Maximus said the visit was to understand the latest developments on Sarawak Hidro’s management of the power station, reservoir management, hydro-engineering mechanism, energy production, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and risk management.

On the state government’s capacity to produce energy through the construction of dams, he said it was based on the needs and demand of investors in Sarawak.

“In the briefing, they have listed all the names of the companies and the capacity needed to operate and the proposed new dams.

“The federal government can only monitor the policy and provide other technical assistance because this is the internal policy of the state government,” he explained.

Maximus led a delegation of 40 high-level officials from the ministry to visit Bakun, which is the largest hydroelectric power station in Southeast Asia.