Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg announced today that fully state-owned electricity utility firm, Sarawak Energy Bhd, wil acquire the equity from the finance ministry and the Federal Land Commission.
“Agreement has been reached in principle that the ownership and operation of the Bakun HEP, the country’s largest hydropower electric plant, shall be fully returned to Sarawak through the acquisition of shares in Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd,” Abang Johari said in a statement today.
He added that Sarawak Energy and Finance Ministry officials are finalising the details of the agreement and a formal announcement will be made once terms are finalised and the share sale agreement is signed.
The chief minister said the acquisition of SHSB will enable the Sarawak government to have full ownership of all electricity generation facilities in Sarawak, providing Sarawak Energy with “greater flexibility” in optimising the management and operation of electricity supply in the state.
Sarawak Hidro was established to develop and manage the Bakun HEP, which was fully commissioned in July 2014 with an installed capacity of 2,400MW.
“This is a major concession by Putrajaya and I would like to thank Prime Minister Najib Razak for this. The acquisition of Bakun HEP represents part of our overall strategic plan to develop and consolidate the state’s abundant energy resources, which allows the state to be in full control of energy generation for the benefit of our people and our economy in the long run,” Abang Johari said.
“Going forward, this will certainly help Sarawak Energy improve Sarawak’s capacity to maintain power security and reliability, and enable operational efficiency through better integration of Bakun and the Murum HEPs,” he said.
The 944MW Murum HEP, located upstream of Bakun HEP, was developed and is owned and operated by the Sarawak Energy Group.