KL power firm to focus on hydro-power

KL power firm to focus on hydro-power

Malaysia's electricity utility firm Tenaga Nasional will focus on developing hydro-electric plants in efforts to ease the country's dependence on gas, reports said Sunday.

Tenaga's chairman Jamaluddin Mohamad Jarjis said gas-fueled plants currently contributed to 80 percent of the country's total power consumption, while another 20 percent was from coal and hydro plants.

Jamaluddin said the development of the hydro-electric units would reduce the high dependence on gas, a non-renewable resource, as well as promote a cleaner and healthier environment.

"Electricity generation using hydropower is much safer and viable although the (infrastructure) cost is high, it is much cheaper to produce when compared against that generated from gas and coal," he was quoted by the official Bernama news agency as saying.

Jamaluddin was speaking to reporters Saturday at the official opening of the 1.8 billion (US$4.7 million) Sultan Ismail Petra hydropower station in the northeastern Kelantan state.

He said the firm was looking into similar hydro-electric projects nationwide to "ensure that Malaysians receive enough electricity through a stable system".

The utility giant is currently working on a feasibility study into the development of a $1 billion hydro-electric project in the central Pahang state, which would be capable of generating 1,000 megawatts of power, he said. -- AFP