GE, Sarawak Energy sign deal for Tanjung Kidurong power station in Malaysia

GE, Sarawak Energy sign deal for Tanjung Kidurong power station in Malaysia

GE's Power Services has signed a multiyear service agreement (MYA) with
Malaysian state government-owned utility and energy development company
Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) for eight years of operations and maintenance
(O&M) support at the Tanjung Kidurong Power Station in Bintulu, Sarawak.

The MYA includes training of O&M employees, technical support, major spare
parts and predictivity solutions for power generation assets from GE's
Monitoring and Diagnostics (M&D) Center in Kuala Lumpur.

The eight-year contract's anticipated benefits for Sarawak Energy include
increased availability of power generated, large-scale energy conservation
and significantly reduced maintenance costs.

This MYA comes six months after Sarawak Energy announced a $250 million
contract with GE and Sinohydro for the 400-megawatt combined-cycle gas
turbine (CCGT) block at the Tanjung Kidurong power station in Bintolu. GE
and Sinohydro also will act as the engineering, procurement and construction
contractors. The new CCGT block will be built within the existing power
station, and construction is expected to be completed by 2019.

"In Sarawak Energy, we are constantly looking into ways to optimize the
performance of our power plants by making use of improved technology and
innovation wherever possible. GE's expertise will enhance Tanjung Kidurong
Power Station's operational performance, making it more efficient and
reliable in terms of its output," said Sharbini Suhaili, Sarawak Energy
Group Chief Executive Officer. "GE is also assisting us in terms of
knowledge transfer to build up the competency of our plant operations team."

GE's solutions are expected to help the plant achieve better reliability and
performance, including an efficiency increase of up to 20 percent in
comparison to existing plants. The computerized maintenance management
system (CMMS) will help SEB plan for and manage the Tanjung Kidurong Power
Station more efficiently and effectively, and the M&D Center will provide
efficient and prompt problem-solving guidance and help avoid false alarms.
In addition, its early warnings can help prevent potential failure
mechanisms and increase the availability and reliability of the Tanjung
Kidurong plant.

Discussing the deal, Anders Maltesen, general manager-Asia Pacific for GE's
Power Services said, "Our total plant solutions include a CMMS, personnel
training and remote monitoring and diagnostics. By using the M&D center's
predictive capabilities, Sarawak Energy will be able to utilize real-time
data collection for enhanced decision-making. The Tanjung Kidurong Power
Station could potentially reduce its maintenance costs by up to 30 percent."

About 75 percent of Sarawak's current power is renewable energy derived from
hydropower plants Murum, Bakun and Batang Ai. To maintain diversity and
security of supply and harness Sarawak's indigenous coal and gas resources,
about 15 percent of Sarawak's generation mix is from its gas-powered plants
and 10 percent from coal-fired plants.

This agreement aligns with future energy goals in Malaysia. According to
Suruhanjaya Tenaga, the Malaysian Energy Commission, total energy
consumption in the country is growing, but supply is dwindling. The
Malaysian government plans to increase capacity by 10 gigawatts by 2020 by
building 13 new power plants and expanding three existing facilities.

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Link to Original Article:
http://fossilfuel.energy-business-review.com/news/ge-and-sarawak-energy-sign
-multiyear-deal-in-malaysia-for-tanjung-kidurong-power-station-bintulu-57714
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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com