TNB eyes 13 projects with Belgian power transmission firm

At the MoU signing ceremony between Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and Belgian firm Elia System Operator SA. Elia Group chief infra officer & Elia Grid international chairman Markus Berger (left) exchanges the MoU document with TNB vice president (grid) Datuk Ho Peng Choong. Also present are Belgium Ambassador to Malaysia Danial Dargent (second from left) and TNB chief corporate officer Datuk Wira Roslan Ab Rahman (third from left).

KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) plans to collaborate on 13 projects with Elia System Operator SA, the sole operator of Belgium’s high-voltage grid and one of Europe’s largest transmission system operators in Europe.

In a statement to Bursa Malaysia, TNB said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Elia for a strategic collaboration in sharing of best practices in capacity building.

Elia, listed on the Euronext Brussels stock exchange, is the transmission operator for Belgium and East Germany, serving 30 million residents.

It has 18,000 km of high voltage lines in Belgium and Germany and 30,000 megawatt (MW) of installed capacity in renewable energy.

TNB said the MoU between it and Elia, among others, covered cooperation in asset management, cross-boundary system and market operations, grid development, network studies and renewable integration.

Both parties will also exchange technical information such as through annual reports and surveys, solution to problems, technical visits, study trips and the necessary training programmes.

TNB president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Azman Mohd said TNB had proposed 13 collaborative projects under the two-year MoU, which is extendable for another year.

One of the proposed projects would benefit TNB’s role in the regional Asean Power Grid (APG) initiative, he said in conjunction with the exchange of MoU documents witnessed by the Belgian ambassador to Malaysia, Danial Dargent.

Azman’s speech was read by TNB chief corporate officer, Datuk Wira Roslan Ab Rahman.

Azman also said that the MoU boded well for TNB’s Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project and ventures into renewable energy, both locally and overseas.

Elia Group chief infra officer & Elia Grid international chairman Markus Berger said with the MoU, Elia offered its expertise as TNB’s anchor partner in achieving TNB’s corporate and nation-building vision.

* See also TNB enters into Asean's first multilateral energy pact