KUCHING, Nov 13: Electricity supply to homes in Bawang Assan, Sibu is expected to improve once the grid reinforcement project for a backup 33kV supply overhead line from Sg Maaw 132/11kV substation to existing 33kV overhead line at Sg Batang Lebaan is completed.
Expected to be completed by the end of 2022, Ministry of Utilities (MOU) Sarawak said the project is a follow-up of an earlier initial reinforcement project wrapped up 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 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,” said the ministry.
While efforts to strengthen the distribution network in high density areas have been an ongoing initiative, it said the extensive works to install backup supply lines began in 2018.
As for water supply, Sibu Water Board (SWB) has undertaken measures such as 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.
Moving forward, MOU said SWB has put in place long-term measures namely, amongst others, 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 will be implemented under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP),” it said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, Minister of Utilities Dato Sri Stephen Rundi assured that 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, standalone 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,” he said.
To achieve this, he said a total of RM4 billion for water supply and RM2.37 billion for electricity supply had been approved under the People’s Project Programme (‘Projek Rakyat’).
Under 12MP, RM18.9 billion for water supply and RM2 billion for electricity supply had been put up for funding considerations. — DayakDaily
