IMPROVEMENT OF ELECTRICITY AND WATER SUPPLIES FOR BAWANG ASSAN

KUCHING
13 NOVEMBER 2021

Electricity supply to households at Bawang Assan, Sibu is expected to be improved with the completion of the ongoing grid reinforcement project for a back-up 33kV supply overhead line from Sg Maaw 132/11 kV substation to the existing 33kV overhead line at Sg. Btg Lebaan.

This project, scheduled to be completed by end of 2022, is a follow-up of an earlier initial reinforcement project completed in February 2020, which involved the splitting of the sources of electricity supply to Bawang Assan from Ensurai 33/11KV Substation and Sg Maaw 132/11KV Substation to better balance the load demand.

The backup supply reinforcement works for Bawang Assan’s distribution network will improve reliability as well as enable quick restoration of supply to the  customers. Sarawak Energy’s  team is also continuously monitoring the voltage stability and performance  of the supply lines in an effort to minimize the risk of a supply disruption in the area.

Efforts to strengthen the distribution network in high density areas like Bawang Assan have been an ongoing initiative and the network’s performances are being constantly assessed to detect the issues that need improvement. For Bawang Assan, extensive works to install the back-up supply lines began in 2018.

In addition, the Ministry of Utilities Sarawak has received a total of 251 applications from 10 villages in Bawang Assan for electrical connections under the ALAF or Additional Late Applicant Fund initiative.  Consultants are now doing ground survey and design works, and implementation by the contractors for connections to the electricity grid will be carried out in 2022. ALAF is an on-going State Government initiative since 2018, aimed at reducing the financial burden of eligible new rural homeowners needing power connection. The costs of connection to the existing rural distribution network, for eligible ALAF applicants, will be absorbed by the Sarawak Government for single-phase connection.

As for water supply, Sibu Water Board (SWB) has undertaken temporary measures to address the water supply problem affecting the households in Bawang Assan. These measures include conducting periodical leak detection to reduce water loss due to pipe leakages, carrying out immediate pipe repair work once leakage is detected and supplying water using water tank trucks to affected areas.

On the way forward to improve the water supply and mitigate the problem in Bawang Assan, SWB has put in place long term measures to address the water problem. These measures include the installation of a new water storage tank at Sibu Barat Booster Station, which is expected to be completed in 2022. Apart from that, the renewal of old and dilapidated pipelines at Jalan Sungai area will also be carried out. The renewal of pipelines for Maaw and Bawang Assan areas will be implemented under the Projek Rakyat Programme in 2022. In addition, the project to install a new pipeline and a high level tank in the Bawang Assan area ill be implemented under the 12th Malaysia Plan.

“The Sarawak Government is committed towards achieving full coverage for both water and electricity supplies by the year 2025. For electricity supply, the strategies adopted include implementing the transmission and distribution rural electrification grid extensions for areas with accessibility. For remote inaccessible areas, stand-alone off-grid Hybrid and Sarawak Alternative Rural Electrification Supply (SARES) system will be adopted. For water supply, the strategies adopted include regionalization of water supplies, implementation of the state-wide water grid and stand-alone SAWAS systems for the remote areas. To achieve our commitment of providing full coverage, a total amount of RM4bil for water supply and RM2.37bil for electricity supply had already been approved under Projek Rakyat. In addition, RM18.9 billion for water supply and RM2 bil for electricity supply had been put up for funding considerations under the 12th Malaysia Plan.” said the Minister for Utilities, Dato Sri Stephen Rundi.