THE KUALA LUMPUR SENTRAL DISTRICT ENERGY PROJECT AND PROSPECTS FOR DISTRIBUTED GENERATION IN MALAYSIA

Presented at: 12th Conference of the Electric Power Supply Industry (CEPSI12), November 2-6, 1998, Pattaya, Thailand.

Theme: Electricity - The Challenge for Sustainable Development

Jointly Authored by:

Ir. Bob Chee and Ir. Azizan Lebai Manat, Wirazone Sdn. Bhd

ABSTRACT: A country's industrialisation drive is supported by competitive energy prices. De-regulation of the electricity supply industry has been recognised as a key driver towards this end. By the end of 1998, Malaysia will have an independent grid system operator, whilst Tenaga Nasional, the country's major power utility, has announced plans to break up its existing distribution unit into several regional companies. The issues surrounding these changes are mainly commercial and legal. Against this back drop is the concept of Distributed Generation. Wirazone is the developer of the first District Energy Project in Kuala Lumpur, an example of Distributed Generation. The Project is located in Kuala Lumpur Sentral, the new rail transportation hub and city airport terminal. This property development will be the new nucleus for the city with commercial and residential properties to be developed together with the central railway station. This paper outlines the two projects involved: district cooling (DCS) and electricity distribution.. Wirazone will supply 15000 RT of chilled water and 60 MW of power to meet the entire electricity needs of consumers within the 72 acre site. In the course of implementing the District Energy Project, Wirazone, as a brand new "mini utility", is going for the latest technology in electricity distribution and conforming to international utility benchmarking. It is able to accelerate the introduction of new quality standards in the Malaysian electricity supply industry. Considerations in opting for DCS, still an innovation in Malaysia, are presented. Whilst co-generation offers energy cost savings, the viability of co-generation projects based on natural gas requires the removal of cross subsidies between the gas and electricity utilities to result in the correct economic prices. The paper concludes that supportive government legislation will ensure a bright future of Distributed Generation.

Note: If you want a copy of the complete Paper, please e-mail author, with your name and address, at hk970701@hotmail.com

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