PETALING JAYA: Costs at the RM7.3bil Bakun Dam project are set to balloon with every step in the delay in impoundment and power supply to Sarawak, said Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd managing director Zulkiflie Osman.
Starting next year, an additional interest payment of RM10mil per month will be incurred as the dam is already five months behind schedule for flooding. It takes seven months from the impoundment date for the dam to reach its minimum operating level to generate power.
“We have met the technical requirements for impoundment since April this year,’’ Zulkiflie told a media briefing in Bakun last Thursday.
Sarawak Hidro, the owner and developer of the Bakun Dam project, has submitted its commitments and undertakings to Sarawak’s Ministry of Public Utilities as per the Sarawak cabinet decision in June.
“Impoundment must commence as soon as possible to reduce the adverse impact on costs, waiting time and staff morale,’’ he said.
Funding for the Bakun Dam project is mainly via borrowings from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP); that amount has swelled to RM5.75bil, according to Sarawak Hidro chairman Tan Sri Izzuddin Dali.
By the year-end, the project cost including interest and compensation is estimated at RM7bil to RM7.3bil. “In view of the rising costs, impoundment must take place before the end of the year,’’ said Izzuddin.
An equally pressing issue involves the sale of power to Sarawak Energy Bhd, the state electricity utility which will now be the sole buyer as an earlier plan for undersea cable transmission to the peninsula appears to have been scrapped.
About 300MW of hydropower from the first turbine at the RM7.3bil Bakun Dam is expected to be generated by the middle of next year and 600-900MW by end of next year; by 2012, all eight turbines are expected to be in place.
Total installed capacity from these two dams is 3,344MW but firm power that is available for use at anytime will be about 2,420MW (1,770MW from Bakun and 650MW from Murum).
Tan Sri Izzuddin Dali
Sarawak’s current capacity of 1,300MW already considerably exceeds peak demand of 900MW (excluding power to Press Metal Bhd’s aluminium smelter, which will initially take up 90MW).
Apart from organic demand, industries from the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy are projected to start taking about 500MW in 2012 and close to 2,000MW by 2014, according to projections by Sarawak Energy.
In the interim, Sarawak Energy is likely to take power from Bakun to maintain its gas turbines and coal-fired plants. “Sarawak Energy needs to do maintenance,’’ said an industry source. “It will probably shut down these plants and draw down the power from Bakun.’’
Besides the power from Bakun, a further 944MW will be added from the RM3.5bil Murum Dam by the end of 2013. Sarawak Energy owns Murum Dam while Bakun Dam is owned by Sarawak Hidro which, in turn, is wholly-owned by Minister of Finance Inc.
While awaiting firm commitments from investors, both parties (Sarawak Hidro and Sarawak Energy) are meeting end of this month to discuss the project costs.
“Once the costs are adopted, we will proceed onto the financial models and hope to seal the tariff rates by the end of the year,’’ said Zulkiflie.
The issue of tariffs has become a thorny matter with Sarawak Energy looking at just below 8 sen per KwH while their heavy offtakers – the aluminium smelters – are only talking of slightly less than four US cents (13.6 sen on an exchange rate of RM3.40 to the dollar) per KwH.
However, the discussions are likely to include rates for different industries in Sarawak which are likely to be charged different rates based on their usage patterns.
At Sarawak Hidro, various costs are imputed, making the tariff range acceptable at 10 to 15 sen per KwH.
By YAP LENG KUEN
No comments:
Post a Comment