Kota Kinabalu: Sabah can supply 100MW of electricity to Palawan island in the Philippines, northeast of Kudat, some of which may come from hydro electricity from Sarawak's Bakun Dam.Palawan is plagued by power outage that affect its hospitality industry that provides business and employment opportunities from tourism boom.The drawback is neither Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd, nor the Palawan authority can afford to pay for the submarine cable linking Kudat to Bulliluyan, some 87 km away in Palawan.
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Hence, China investors are encouraged to finance the deal to realise the Sabah-Palawan power linkage supplying 100 MW under the power energy investment cluster of BIMP-EAGA.This was conveyed by Datuk Roselan Johar Mohamed of the BIMP-EAGA Business Council (BEBC) in a presentation to Prof. Xu Liping, a senior research fellow of the National Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (NIIS, CASS) and director of the Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, cum chief of the Department of Asia-Pacific Social and Cultural Studies, NIIS, CASS.On Tuesday, Prof. Xu Liping met members of the the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce (MCCC) Sabah Branch led by N. K. Foo, Michael Chin Wee Yee, members of other chambers of commerce and industries, and the BIMP-EAGA Business Council (BEBC) led by Datuk Roselan Johar Mohamed.They discussed and deliberated on 'BIMP-EAGA development and its challenges' at the premises of MCCC Sabah Branch in Gaya Street.
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Roselan said, "The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is presently undertaking the preliminary feasibility studies."If positive, then the project is viable. We need financing to buy power cable and instrumentation, to lay the cable below seabed, to operate and maintain the cable for 21 years, and thereafter to hand-over to the Palawan Government.
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"If no, we thank you for the experience we had, for the BEBC-NIIS/CASS partnership is a relationship, can be a formidable partnership."Prof. Xu Liping said that the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) is a big opportunity for workable mutual beneficial cooperation between the four Asean countries involved and China, besides Japan and South Korea.The Asean 2020 Vision adopted in 1997 at the 2nd Asean Informal Summit envisioned an energy-interconnected Southeast Asia through two major energy projects: the Asean Power Grid, consisting of 14 interconnection projects, and the Trans-Asean Gas Pipeline.Aside from securing a cross-border energy network, the two major projects are expected to stimulate the Asean economy and promote a win-win economic relationship between the countries though energy trading.Interconnected electricity networks allow countries with abundant natural resources to generate income from their surplus power, while countries with power shortages can import from neighbouring countries at reasonable prices.Interconnection will reduce national investment in power reserves to meet peak demand, give a more reliable supply of electricity, and increase consumers' access to electricity.Asean requires US$100 billion to meet the increasing electricity demand and US$7 billion for the gas pipelines. Asean initiatives on energy interconnection date back to the Asean Cooperation Project on Interconnection, which started in 1982. This was aimed at linking the power systems of neighbouring Asean countries.In 1986, Asean member countries signed the Agreement on Asean Energy Cooperation, calling for cooperation in the efficient development and use of all forms of energy, whether commercial and non-commercial, renewable or non-renewable.It is estimated that ten Asean countries have a total of 22 billion barrels of oil, 227 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, 46 billion tons of coals, 234 gigawatts of hydropower and 20 gigawatts of geothermal capacity.At the 17th Asean Energy Minister's Meeting in 1999, the Asean Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation was adopted, with the establishment of the Asean Power Grid as one of its major goals.The Asean Centre for Energy (ACE) is the central intergovernmental organization responsible for initiating, coordinating and facilitation collective activities on energy.Asean Power Grid Interconnection of the power grid is being implemented through a cooperative agreement among the power utilities/authorities of the ten countries. Agreements are made bilaterally between the countries.To initiate the Asean power grid system, the Heads of Asean Power Utilities/Authorities oversee the implementation of 14 interconnection projects.Two of these have been completed and are currently operating. These are the Peninsular Malaysia-Thailand Interconnection, and the Peninsular Malaysia-Singapore Interconnection.Interconnections have optimized the power systems' production. Encouraged by its experience with these two projects, Asean has identified criteria for future interconnections.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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