Press Metal Bhd (RM1.64/share) Sarawak Hidro set to commission turbines

Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd is expected to commission the remaining four of the eight turbines at Bakun hydroelectric dam in second half-2013 to ramp up full-power generation capacity. Managing director Zulkifle Othman said installation of the fifth to eighth turbines from Argentina was in progress and that they would be commissioned in stages.

Sarawak Hidro, developer of the RM7.3bil Bakun dam, sells hydro power to Sarawak Energy Bhd’s (SEB) wholly-owned Syarikat SESCO Sdn Bhd for 6.25sen per kilowatt hour (kWh) with an annual hike rate of 1.5% for 30 years from 2011. It pays Sarawak government a water levy of one sen/kWh or about RM150mil per annum.

SEB’s biggest client is OM Materials (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd (taking 500MW for 20 years), which is investing in a US$592mil ferro alloy smelting plant. Other confirmed power purchasers are Press Metal Bhd (480MW), Tokuyama Corp (360MW) and Pertama Ferroalloys Sdn Bhd (formerly AML Manganese (M) Sdn Bhd) (270MW). – StarBiz