KUCHING (Feb 25): Sarawak is collaborating with the federal government to deepen regional cooperation and foster greater energy connectivity in the Asean region, said Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
This follows Malaysia assuming the Chair of Asean in 2025.
“Under our power sector strategy, Sarawak aims to achieve 10 Gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2030 and expand to 15GW by 2035. Currently, over 70 per cent of our electricity comes from hydropower, making Sarawak one of Asean’s lowest carbon emitters in the power sector.
“Sarawak is committed to supporting Southeast Asia’s clean energy transition. Together with Kalimantan in Indonesia, we have the potential to be the ‘Battery of Asean’, supplying renewable power to our Southeast Asian neighbors through the interconnected Borneo and Asean Power Grid,” he said in his keynote speech at the EIC Connect Energy Borneo 2025 held at Hikmah Exchange Convention Centre here today.
Abang Johari pointed out that the state had taken its first step towards regional collaboration nearly a decade ago.
This is proven with the Sarawak–West Kalimantan power grid interconnection, also referred to as Trans Borneo Power Grid, the first Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) power flagship project under the Asean Power Grid initiative, and the first leg of energy trading between Malaysia and Indonesia.
He said such interconnection enables West Kalimantan to import hydropower from Sarawak while advancing Sarawak’s own power export ambitions — setting a precedent for future regional energy trading and integration.
“Sarawak is also committed to realising the Sarawak–Brunei Darussalam power interconnection by 2030, with an initial export capacity of 30–50 Megawatts (MW).
“Additionally, Sarawak is on track to export approximately 30–50 MW of renewable power to Sabah by the end of this year, facilitated by a 34 km, 275 kV transmission line,” he said.
He also noted that the state’s regional energy collaboration continues to progress, as the 1,000 MW interconnection project to Singapore advances with Malaysia and Singapore having reached an agreement.
He added that technical discussions are now in their final stages and given the complexity of installing one of the world’s few long-distance submarine cables, the state is working closely with all stakeholders, including Indonesia.
“At the same time, I am happy to share that just recently, our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has requested that Sarawak consider supplying renewable power to the Southern Philippines.
“With the Sarawak–Sabah Interconnection set to be energised this year, I am confident that this aspiration can be realized, particularly through the Sabah–Palawan Interconnection project, which is currently under study through BIMP-EAGA and the broader Asean framework,” he added.
