New power plant to be identified

The Star, 12/8/2010
KUALA LUMPUR: The Energy Commission (EC) hopes to identify the power company that will plant up an additional 1,000MW of electricity by the end of January next year.


“A decision is imminent for the construction of the first plant of up to 1,000MW,’’ chairman Tan Sri Dr Ahmad Tajuddin Ali told StarBiz yesterday.


Tan Sri Dr Ahmad Tajuddin Ali “We are still in the consultative process, evaluating the proposals submitted by three bidders of existing sites – Tenaga Nasional Bhd (Janamanjung), Malakoff Bhd (Tanjung Bin) and Jimah Power Sdn Bhd (Jimah).

“We will pick the winner the latest by the end of January next year. The winner this round has to ensure that the plant will be operational by the first quarter of 2015,’’ he added.

Each of these existing sites have the space for two more generating units of 1,000MW each, said Tajuddin.

“It is more economical to build on these existing sites and tap on their existing facilities,’’ he said, referring to the first unit being planned.

Based on an expected 6% growth in gross domestic product (GDP) per year, there is a projected power shortage in 2015 as initially 1,600MW was supposed to be transmitted via undersea cables to the peninsula from the Bakun Dam in Sarawak.

Greenfield projects is a possibility, but they take time to become operational, so they will not be able to meet the peninsula’s urgent power needs by 2015-2016.

Electricity consumption per capita in Malaysia now stands at about 3,412 kWh per annum, significantly higher than most developing countries, but still below the average in developed countries.

It is projected to more than double to 7,571 kWh per person in 2030, higher than that of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation region average of 6,833 kWh per person.

“Implementation must be carried out in the next 3 to 4 years,’’ he said, adding that a major criterion was to have a reserve margin of 20%. Among other factors, the speed at which financing can be secured by these bidders would also be considered.


Due to the limited gas supply in the long term, the commission had decided on a coal-fired plant which can be completed in 42 months. “We are a consequential planner. Since the Government has targeted a GDP growth of 6% per year under the 10th Malaysia Plan, we have to plan for the anticipated growth in energy demand,” he said.

“We need to plan for that ... no one can say it’s not going to happen (the targeted GDP growth); at the Electricity Commission, we have to be prepared to meet the future power requirement,” he added.

(Electricity demand is positively linked to a country’s GDP growth).


Still, the winner of the first round of tender can only supply 1,000MW. There’s still a gap of at least 600MW to be filled as Bakun is not providing the power.
“So, there is a need for a second plant,’’ he said.

“This second plant can be a greenfield project which would take longer to plan,’’ he said, adding that it would involve site investigations and compliance with environmental requirements.