SEB to implement 500kv backbone transmission system
KUCHING: Sarawak Energy Bhd ( SEB) is now at the later stage of implementing a 500 kilovolt ( kV) backbone transmission system in the state.
Its chief executive officer, Datuk Torstein Dale Sjotveit, said this initiative was to ensure its customers here and elsewhere in the state get to enjoy 24hour uninterrupted electricity supply.
On the Murum hydroelectric dam project, he said the ceremony to celebrate Murum’s full commissioning had been planned for next month.
“We are in the midst of constructing the new 600MW coal project in Balingian using the latest and most environmentally friendly technology,” he said in his speech at SEB’s Hari Raya gathering at Menara Sarawak Energy here yesterday.
On Miri, Sjotveit said SEB had made very serious improvements over the last 24 months.
“Tomorrow (today), we will start another 30MW gas unit that will increase local generation and reliability in Miri.”
He said SEB continued to work with the State Planning Unit and Regional Corridor Development Authority ( Recoda) to assure potential investors of the unmatched competitive advantage of doing business in the state, thanks to the low electricity tariff and the state’s young, hardworking and Englishspeaking workforce.
“To date, we have signed 14 agreements with various SCORE customers, and we look forward to more. We have now a commitment by 2018 to deliver approximately 2,600MW to SCORE, domestic, and export customers, and we have altogether approximately 2,800MW firm power from existing generation, including Bakun and Murum, as well as from Balingian, which will be available in 2018.”
Sjotveit said SEB currently had 4,200 local employees working hard to ensure its 570,000 customers in the state have electricity.
In doing this, he said SEB had improved the reliability of power supply and reduced the frequency and number of outages in the state by a large percentage.
“We have also significantly reduced power theft and passed these savings to our customers.”
Sjotveit acknowledged that SEB needed to continually improve its services to meet rising customer expectations.
He pointed out that the recent problems on billing were a complex one, and SEB had also learned a lot from this experience.
“Our billing system was faced with two transitions that came back to back. One was the tariff reduction, and the other the implementation of GST. While we foresaw some technical problems arising from these, it became more complex than anticipated, causing problems to some customers.”
He said the team from SEB had made rectifications to their billing system and handheld meters reading devices to address various issues.
“I would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere apologies to our customers for the inconvenience caused. I truly hope the worst is behind us.”