THE interconnection project to Sabah hinges on completing the transmission line connection from Miri to Lawas under the Northern Grid Extension project.
Utility and Telecommunications Minister Datuk Julaihi Narawi lamented that the project from the Lawas substation to the Mengalong substation in Sabah via a 34-km-long, 275-kilovolt (kV) transmission line should have been operational in the fourth quarter of 2024.
He regretted that the Northern Grid Extension Project, which was supposed to be completed in May this year, has been delayed due to way-leave issues in Long Latei, Long Meraan, Long Seridan, Long Kawa, and Long Selulong.
“The connection of the transmission line to the Sarawak grid through the Northern Grid Extension project from Miri to Lawas will only be completed by the end of this year if the way-leave issues can be resolved.
“I urge all parties to cooperate so that this issue can be resolved soon,” he said during his winding-up speech today.
Julaihi said the progress on exporting Sarawak’s electricity to Singapore is in the technical investigation phase, with commercial operation expected by 2031.
“The federal government cabinet meeting on Feb 15 approved the proposal from the Sarawak government to implement an electricity interconnection project with a capacity of up to 1,000 megawatts (MW) to Singapore through an undersea cable.
“This cable will traverse the water catchment areas of the Muri-Midai corridor, spanning a distance of 720 km,” he said.
Meanwhile, he added that a proposal to connect Sarawak’s electricity to Malaya is still in the early stages of study by Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) and Tenaga National Berhad (TNB).
“The federal government has also approved the proposal for an interconnection project with a capacity of not less than 1,000 MW from Sarawak to the Peninsular,” he added.
