The consortium to manage the Prai power plant will be finalised by the third week of March, said the Energy Commission chairman, Tan Sri Datuk Dr Ahmad Tajuddin Ali.
He said the Commission had identified 18 consortiums for pre-qualification to manage the 1,000-1,400 megawatt (MW) gas fired power plant.
“Once finalised, these 18 consortiums can submit bids for the tender,” he told a press briefing at the National Energy Security Conference 2012 here today.
Ahmad Tajuddin said for the first generation independent power producers (IPPs), the government is inviting them to submit their bid for a possible extension of capacity for another 10 years.
“However, they must agree to renegotiate their current power purchase agreement for a reduction, on primarily, the capacity payment for four years from now until the end of the concession period,” he added.
Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui said Malaysia is fortunate to have been endowed with oil and gas resources to support its economic growth.
“However, most of the indigenous oil and gas fields have been developed and are in advanced stages of production.
“The oil and gas reserves are depleting and production is declining at a rate of about two per cent per annum, leading Malaysia to becoming increasingly dependent on imported gas to meet demand,” he added.
Chin gave the opening address at the one-day National Energy Security Conference 2012.
Currently, 30 per cent of the piped natural gas supplied to peninsular Malaysia is imported from Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
He also said that Malaysia’s final energy demand is projected to grow at 3.4 per cent annually, reaching 92.9 million tonnes of oil equivalent in 2030, which is double the 2010 level.
On the global energy outlook, the former executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Nobuo Tanaka said the era of cheap energy is over, and more countries may need to maintain nuclear power as an option in the future.
