Tenaga may revive plan to export electricity to Sumatra

Power utility company Tenaga Nasional Bhd., saddled with an electricity reserve margin of 40%, is reviewing a plan to export some of the excess power to Sumatra in Indonesia, business weekly The Edge reports, citing unnamed sources.

Several independent power producers have expressed interest in constructing a submarine cable to transmit the electricity. The undersea cable is expected to cost about $150 million.

Powertek Bhd., a company owned by Malaysian businessman Ananda Krishnan's Tanjung Plc, may be interested in the project, the weekly said.

Another interested party is international engineering firm Asea Brown Boveri. Tenaga has the option to participate in the construction of the undersea cable.

Officials of Tenaga, Tanjong and Powertek weren't immediately available for comment.(*)