Palawan-Sabah power transmission link eyed

MANILA, Philippines -  A Palawan and Sabah power transmission link was proposed during the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) meeting held recently to meet the sub-region’s infrastructure connectivity and energy security plans.

The BIMP-EAGA Business Council (BEBC) presented to the Philippine delegates the proposed Sabah to Palawan Interconnection project, Department of Energy Assistant Secretary Leonido Pulido said.

The BEBC, a private sector group, initiated the partnership with the Provincial Government of Palawan aiming to deliver electric power from Sabah to Palawan.

During the meeting, BEBC said the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) may take place by April 2017. The realization of the project will provide the needed capacity addition to the country, Pulido said.

“The Philippines will pursue coordination meetings between the private sector, National Government Agencies (NGAs) and the provincial government of Palawan to be able to review existing policies and regulation on cross-border trading and to facilitate the timely execution of the proposed interconnection,” Pulido said.

In the same meeting, the Philippines also underscored the need to strengthen the resiliency of energy infrastructures in the sub-region which is in support of the Philippine Energy Sector eight-point agenda.

Meanwhile, BEBC Brunei proposed a renewable energy resource assessment for each country intending to identify feedstock as fuel for a proposed biomass generating facility project.

BIMP senior officials welcomed the outputs of the Power and Energy Infrastructure Cluster and look forward to the efficient implementation of the different plans and activities until 2025 in partnership with the private sector and other key stakeholders.