NEWS & UPDATES

KUCHING, 20TH MAY, 2016, FRIDAY: Sarawak Energy welcomes the Auditor General's endorsement of our management of the Murum hydroelectric project.

The Audit confirms that:

• the project was well executed,  
• that all of the power from the project has been sold to SCORE investors, and  
• that there has been very significant investment in the resettlement of directly affected people.

As a responsible company, owned by the State Government, we will always do our best for the people of Sarawak and we welcome the opportunity to learn more and to do even better in the future.

The Murum project was completed in a cost effective manner and now provides electricity to people and businesses in Sarawak at a globally competitive price, which can only be achieved through hydropower.

The introduction of efficient power from Murum was an important factor behind the State Government's decision to reduce electricity tariffs in Sarawak last year, which are now clearly the lowest in Malaysia and among the lowest in ASEAN.

With regard to suggestions of “additional costs", the nature of hydropower development is that there will always be some costs which cannot be accurately priced at the beginning of the construction of the project.  

Instead, these costs are treated as provisional, with the final cost being determined by the physical conditions actually encountered at the project site.

In the case of Murum, these provisional costs were expected and planned for by Sarawak Energy from the beginning.  Our team was able to negotiate a contract which meant that these uncertainties were managed in a way which delivered a very cost effective result.

 We look forward to apply the lessons learned at Murum in further projects for the benefit of Sarawak in the future.

Murum Hydroelectric Project