Feasibility study on power system link with Indonesia
Monday, May 17 2004 - 12:10 AM WIB
The company has been awarded a contract worth almost US$1 million by Tenaga Nasional Bhd and its Indonesian counterpart PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) to conduct the study to determine the viability of the proposal to supply electricity from Peninsular Malaysia to Sumatra, Indonesia.
?They (Shaw Power Technologies) will start the study by the middle of May and is expected to complete it within six months,? sources told Business Times.
The two power utility companies will bear the cost of the study equally.
Shaw Power Technologies, together with its partners, Advanced Power Solutions Sdn Bhd, Stone and Webster Management Consultants Inc, Energy Cable Consultants Inc and Electranix Corp will conduct the study.
An industry observer said the project will bring the South-East Asian region a step closer to the realisation of a fully integrated power highway among members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean).
The Asean Interconnection Master Plan Study had identified the effort as one of the most promising interconnection projects.
PLN was reported as saying in June last year that the link for the power supply from Peninsular Malaysia to Sumatra may be opened by 2008.
In its 2002 annual report, PLN said Indonesia?s electricity demand may exceed supply in 2005. Power demand in Sumatra is growing by about 13 per cent annually and the company cannot meet this demand.
Prior to the agreement last month, Tenaga had signed a memorandum of understanding with PLN in April 2002 to pursue the study of the project on a bilateral basis.(*)