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By Karen Bong
KUCHING, July 9: Sarawak offers the lowest electricity tariff in the region, including for industrial purposes, and this has attracted significant interest, including from Singapore investors who intend to invest in setting up a data centre in the State.
Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg emphasised the importance of reliable and ample power supply for digitalisation and adoption of high technology in all industries, including data centres.
“Sarawak offers the most attractive tariff rate in the region, which is why Singapore is coming here now to set up a data centre.
“And we are reciprocating with intention to supply power to Singapore,” he said during ‘Sunday with Premier 2.0: Dialogue Session with Young Entrepreneurs on New Economy’ held at Imperial Hotel here today.
Abang Johari was responding to Joshua Lai of Wagro Trading (Kuching) Sdn Bhd, a company involved in agriculture including oil palm, who asked about the Sarawak government’s plan in tackling resistance in high technology adoption including automation and mechanisation, which involves high cost.
Sarawak Energy Group chief executive officer Datu Sharbini Suhaili who was also present gave assurance that Sarawak has sufficient power supply, with a current capacity at 5,700 megawatts (MW) with peak demand at 4,600MW.
“We have excess power which serves as a reserve margin to meet the needs of consumers and industries.
“Sarawak is blessed with an abundance of natural resources and this has enabled us to pursue renewable energy solutions, and more importantly, the strong political will of the Sarawak government has facilitated in getting these things done.
“As a result, Sarawak is able to power the industries in an and systematic way as well as supply power at a competitive rate to all customers,” he explained.
Over the last few months, Sharbini disclosed, Sarawak Energy has initiated a power planning and coordination committee to monitor monthly power supply output and noted there are increasing demand coming into Sarawak.
“Today, there is a long list of potential customers waiting to invest in Sarawak. Recently, the Premier has instructed us to support them and we have allocated them with certain power capacity for data centres in the region.
“We have also recently allocated 30MW to one new data centre in Sarawak,” he said.
Ready with plans for further expansion, Sharbini added that Sarawak Energy is committed to ensuring sufficient power supply for all industries including IT, agriculture, and emerging sectors like hydrogen and algae production.
Abang Johari also expressed optimism that as high technology adoption becomes more widespread, the cost will gradually decrease, making it more affordable for a larger population.
“The government is aggressively establishing facilities to support all sectors and industries, as well as providing training and upskilling opportunities to strengthen human capital in Sarawak,” he added.
Organised by DayakDaily and Pertubuhan Wartawan Bebas Kuching (Pewarta), with the support of the Sarawak government, the dialogue was attended by some 130 young entrepreneurs as well as top government officials and heads of departments.
Minister of Sports, Youth and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Tebedu assemblyman Dr Simon Sinang Bada, Deputy Secretary (Economic and Development Planning) Datu Dr Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel and Sarawak Economic Planning Unit (EPU) director Lester Matthew were among those present. — DayakDaily
