Sime Darby, SEB to sign MoU

Taken from: The Star, Monday, 11 February 2008.

KUALA LUMPUR, 11 February 2008 – Sime Darby Berhad and Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) will sign a memorandum of understanding today which will see major progress in the supply and transmission of electricity from the Bakun Dam.

The MoU will be inked as part of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) project, which Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will launch in Bintulu today.

The MoU will see the multinational working together with SEB to commission the generating units at Bakun, and develop a transmission line connecting Bakun to the Sarawak grid.

Industry sources said the signing of the MoU will pave the way for detailed negotiations on the sale of electricity generated by the dam to Sarawak.

The Bakun Dam will have the capacity to generate 2,400MW of power, of which 1,600MW will be transmitted to Peninsular Malaysia via underwater cables.

The first cable will be completed in 2013 and the second in 2015.

It is understood that the signing of the MoU will pave the way for Sime Darby to get the green light to transmit power overland in Sarawak, from Bakun to Kampung Pueh.

The submarine cable lines will start from Kampung Pueh across the South China Sea to Johor.

It also leaves open the possibility of purchasing any excess capacity from SEB, with the objective of exporting additional electricity to the peninsula using the transmission link.

Sime Darby is the owner of the Bakun Dam and its transmission works. SEB, which is owned by the Sarawak Government, is responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the state.