Malaysian govt to review need for new power plants

 

THE government will review the need for new power plants by the end of 2009 as electricity consumption has weakened in the last one year, Energy Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor says.

The decision was made yesterday by a committee, the Jawatankuasa Perancangan Pelaksanaan Pembekalan Elektrik dan Tariff (JPPET), which the minister chairs.

Shaziman noted that demand for electricity has fallen by 4.8 per cent this year.

Malaysia has a total installed generation capacity of 19,743 megawatts (MW), while in contrast, the maximum demand was 14,007MW.

He said power consumption is expected to increase by 3.0 to 3.5 per cent in five to six years.

Shaziman reiterated that the country has enough supply given its high electricity reserve margin.

He said the current 42 per cent reserve is expected to rise to 47 per cent next year with the commissioning of a new independent power producer (IPP) in Jimah, Negri Sembilan.

Malaysia's reserve margin is expected to come down to only 25 per cent as a result of the decommissioning of five IPPs in 2016.

If there is demand for power, he said, the five plants could be recommissioned to supply electricity at a cheaper rate.

However, Shaziman said any new Power Purchasing Agreements would depend if Petronas could guarantee gas supply after 2019.

"Up to yesterday, Petronas could not guarantee gas supply until 2019," he said, adding that the Economic Planing Unit is investigating the actual numbers.