The construction of the 33kV Medium Voltage Covered Conductor (MVCC) Transmission Line from Kapit-Baleh project, estimated to cost RM62 million, is currently under implementation and is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2027.
Deputy Minister of Utility (Sarawak Energy Berhad and PETROS) Datuk Ibrahim Baki said the project, funded by Sarawak Energy Berhad, also includes a feasibility study on extending grid connectivity to longhouses around the Baleh area once the project is completed.
“For the Tunoh settlement, the proposed construction of the MVCC line and a 33/11kV substation has been submitted for consideration and funding approval by the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW) under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP),” he said in reply to Baleh assemblyman Nicholas Kudi Jantai during the question-and-answer session today.
Responding to a supplementary question on the settlements involved in the feasibility study for grid extension, Ibrahim said some of the areas include Gaat, Entawau and several longhouses along Sungai Baleh.
On alternative solutions should the last-mile electricity scheme be unfeasible in remote interior areas accessible only via logging roads and located far from existing grid systems, Ibrahim said the ministry is currently conducting a feasibility study to upgrade existing Sarawak Alternative Rural Electrification Scheme (SARES) systems into solar hybrid systems.
He said the initiative is aimed at improving electricity supply reliability for remote rural communities that remain difficult to connect to the main grid network.
