Without Bakun’s electricity Sarawak already has ample reserve of electricity supply. In addition there are new coal-fired power plants started in many areas including Bintulu. So: what can the extra 300MW power from Bakun HEP dam do for Sarawak’s energy needs? Unless there are new industry need for the electricity the extra power from Bakun actually will not go anywhere! As a suggestion: may be the government should channel the electricity to the Sg Asap residents who moved out of their ancestral homes to make way for Bakun dam! Currently there are numerous households in Sg Asap who cannot afford the high cost of electricity and live in darkness for years. If the Bakun electricity can be supplied to them first then it will hold much meaning to these folks who had made much sacrifice towards Bakun dam’s construction.
Energy boost from Bakun
by Peter Sibon, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on August 6, 2011, Saturday
The first 300mw produced by one of dam’s eight turbines comes on line today
KUCHING: The RM7.5 billion Bakun hydroelectric power (HEP) Dam will officially make available 300 megawatt of power to the grid system starting today, revealed Sarawak Hidro chief executive officer cum managing director Zulkifle Osman.
He said the 300 megawatt would be produced by one of the eight turbines.
The Bakun HEP has a maximum capacity of 2,400 megawatt when fully operational next year.
“Starting today we are making 300 megawatt of power available for Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) to use,” Zulkifle told The Borneo Post here yesterday.
He added that the Reliability Run (RR) which started on July 5, ended yesterday to ensure all the machines were reliable.
Last night, Minister of Land Development Tan Sri Dr James Masing, who happened to be in Kapit, flew to Bakun to witness the handover ceremony between the Bakun contractor of the turbines Alstom Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd to Sarawak Hidro.
Masing said it was indeed a historic event and hoped that the Bakun HEP would stabilise the power supply in the state and hoped that the people in the surrounding areas would benefit from the mega project.
“I am pleased to witness this event since I was involved with the Bakun project since it was mooted in the early 1980s,”
Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud told the media during the closing of the last state assembly sitting that initially the state government, through the SEB, had made a proposal to the federal government to buy Bakun Dam but the offer was rejected.
“Instead, the state government through SEB has managed to secure a 30-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) on 1 June, 2011 with the federal government through Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd, to sell electricity from Bakun dam to the latter at 6.25 sen per kilowatt hour with an annual increase of 1.5 per cent,” said Taib.
Taib who is also the Minister of Planning and Resource Management said that the Prime Minister had from the beginning assured the state that Bakun’s energy would be used for the development of Sarawak industries.
He reiterated that Bakun Dam was a major step forward in the development of Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE).
“With this supply of power now secured, SEB will be able to negotiate more firmly with the investors the price, size and duration of power requirement,” added Taib.
The Chief Minister stressed that the additional cost to SEB in delivering power to the consumers include the construction of the transmission lines and electrical sub-stations.
Sarawak Hidro is a unit of Ministry of Finance Inc and owner of the Bakun dam while Sesco is a wholly-owned unit of Sarawak Energy Bhd.
People become RICH by convincing & creating a need.
Maybe Politicians want the timber in Bakun and take commission for the Bakun HydroElectric Plant.
I am told by Dayaks working in KL that many areas in Sarawak don’t have Electricity – 50 years after Independence !!!
I must go and visit Sarawak one day.
Any volunteer to take me to Sarawak and show me around # # #
Can you tell me why People need to take Spirulina, an algae???
Will we die if we don’t take Spirulina???
If you take Spirulina ALONE and avoid other food, will you be healthy and live longer???
Prof Kutz from Munich did a study on Gingko and found that it has no real beneficial effects on loss of memory.
Prof Kutz came to KL several years ago and I attended the lecture.
But doctors and pharmacists continue to prescribe Gingko to patients. WHY ???
Halo Dr Chan, MEO-Net do organise regular trips to Sarawak’s interior. If you are interested to join the trip feel free to contact us through: meonet2010@gmail.com or 013-5900339.
Ong BK
Hi Ong,
Regular trips to Sarawak !!! Good.
I can join you in one of those trips
When is the best time to go to Sarawak?
Maybe during their festive days!
How many days?
There are monthly trips to Sarawak’s interior for typically 1 week to 10 days duration to perform the following duties eg voter registration, voter education, documenting local issues, and inspecting potentials for eg Micro/mini hydro options.
Just let me know the month you are available. We need to group only 3-4 persons in a group (enough to go in a car) to plan the specific of the trip eg destinations and programs. To reduce costs you should plan it 1 month ahead-then the air fares can be lower. But if you go at festive seasons ef Gawai(June) and X-mas(Dec) there is no cheap air fares even 2-3 months ahead. Avoiding festive seasons is perhaps the way to go. You will be given a briefing ahead of the trip and there will be a de-briefing after the trip. A paid local guide will bring you around, who will arrange your travel inside Sarawak. The trip is self-financed. for people who are interested to go but stopped by financial consideration they can apply for some sponsorship-which will be considered most sympathetically.
More details will be provided once you firm up your plan. It’ll help if you can group together 3-4 friends to go together. Otherwise we’ll put together all interested people from out contacts.
Ong BK
TO ALL VISITORS: VERY WELCOME TO OUR SARAWAK…
we really need bakun…the total installed capacity is only 2400MW but it will only wrking and producing about 75% to 80% of the installed capacity as the balance is for spinning reserve … as u can see now SCORE is coming up with the high impact or high demand of electricity required. some required for about 1200MW…furthermore a study conducted by SEB that the growth of sarawak electricity demand is about 6%. Bakun is only to for the 1st phase of SCORE development …but govt will only constructed dam if there is a demand and confirmation of off-taker which is the investers.