Government to rely on hydropower to produce 30% of electricity needs

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 (Bernama) -- The government plans to rely on hydropower to produce 30 percent of the country's electricity needs over the next decade to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, Minister of Energy, Water and Communications, Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik, said here Tuesday."Sabah and Sarawak have the potential to deliver that," he said at the opening of the 4th National Utilities Summit 2007 here today.He said the development of hydropower and the transmission of power from Sabah and Sarawak to Peninsular Malaysia offered business opportunities for the energy sector.Dr Lim said the two states could supply about 4,000 to 5,000 megawatt hydropower in years to come.Currently, Malaysia relies on gas and to a lesser extent, coal to produce its electric power."We are also studying the possibility of getting more hydropower from the Rejang River basin such as Murum and Baleh for the longer term. The role of hydropower will be more prominent post-2010.He said the Bakun hydropower project, which was expected to be completed by 2011, still needed undersea cables to transport the power."However, the decision on the cable is still being considered," he said.Asked whether the undersea cable project was still viable, Dr Lim said: "I have to think about it. It is a matter of dollar and cent."At the moment, he said, the ministry was looking at technical and financing aspects before laying the undersea cable."Eventually the Bakun power source will still be brought to Peninsular Malaysia. It is only the matter of when and how much," he said.In June, Dr Lim said the government has asked Japan's Sumitomo Corp and Italy's Prysmian SpA to consider setting up plants in Malaysia to manufacture the submarine cables for the 700-kilometre undersea project, estimated to cost about US$1.5 billion.