SEB to study potential power export to Sabah, Brunei and devt in North Kalimantan, Myanmar

KUCHING: Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB), under its regional ambition to realise the Asean Power Grid, will export power to West Kalimantan, which has already started in 2016, study the potential power export to Sabah and Brunei as well as to study potential power developments in North Kalimantan and Myanmar.

Its Group Chief Executive Officer, Sharbini Suhaili, said in a couple of years, SEB would focus on power export to West Kalimantan, Sabah and Brunei before embarking on possible ventures in North Kalimantan and Myanmar.

“SEB is increasing the export of electricity to West Kalimantan, Indonesia and is expected to next sell power to Brunei and Sabah under the trans-Borneo power grid project,” he said at the media business update 2018 here yesterday.

He said SEB was working on power exchange agreements with Brunei and Sabah to pave the way for the export of electricity.

In earlier media reports, Brunei was said to have agreed to buy 100 megawatts (MW) from SEB, with an option to buy 50MW more.

Currently, SEB exports between 150MW and 200MW to West Kalimantan.

Sarbini said SEB practised a holistic view of energy development to balance it to drive socio-economic transformation, energy security, sustainability and affordability by offering among the lowest tariff in the region through hydropower development.

He said Sarawak would produce 7,115MW of power by 2025 through developing hydroelectric power as key source of power for the state, adding that currently Sarawak produced 5,49MW.

“The utility of the future will be a fully digital system involving transformation of the organisation and business, opening bigger digital opportunities across every value chain,” he said.

SEB, a fully-integrated power utility and energy development company, is wholly-owned by Sarawak government.

It generates power through hydro and thermal (coal and gas) and serves a population of 2.6 million covering 650,000 domestic, commercial, industrial and export customers through an extensive transmission and distribution network. It has a multidisciplinary workforce of 5,000. – Bernama