Bakun – Where should all the power go?

Deem as one of the few mega projects of such scale in this part of the world, the largest hydroelectric dam in the Southeast Asia region, Bakun in Sarawak, is expected to complete by end of 2010. The project first initiated back in 1980s is finally near fruition more than two decades later after much controversies and obstacles. With power generation expected to start in July 2011, there are much debates on how to deal with its 2400 MW maximum capacity now that the preliminary undersea transmission cable project to transfer 1600 MW to Peninsular Malaysia is called off and all that hydropower will be contained within Sarawak. On top of that, Murum dam will add another 944 MW to the grid by end of 2013 and several other dams are reportedly afoot for construction, all within the state of Sarawak. This will result in excessive energy generation in the state while Peninsular is projected to face power shortage by 2015 with the submarine cable project scrapped. This paper presents the numerous issues related to the Bakun project that have surfaced over the years.