TNB opens new power plant able to supply two million households

PORT DICKSON: Tenaga Nasional's recently commissioned RM12bil Tuanku Muhriz Power Station in Jimah near here will be able to produce 2,000MW of electricity, enough to supply two million households in the peninsula.

The plant, previously known as Jimah East Power, will also utilise state-of-the-art and eco-friendly ultra-supercritical (USC) technology, making it one of the more modern plants in the region.

Tenaga Nasional chairman Tan Sri Leo Moggie said with the commissioning of the plant, the utility company is now able to generate 25,981MW of electricity in the peninsula.

"The commencement of the station's operations has contributed to the stability and reliability of the national grid system to distribute electricity supply in the peninsula.

"This station is Tenaga Nasional's third USC based plant, after the Sultan Azlan Shah Power Station and Manjung 4 and 5 in Lumut, Perak," he said in his speech at the official opening of the station by state ruler Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir.

Also present were the ruler's consort Tunku Ampuan Besar Negri Sembilan Tuanku Aishah Rohani, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun and Tenaga Nasional president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.

The Tuanku Muhriz station is 70% owned by Tenaga Nasional with two Japanese companies, Mitsui & Co and Chugoku Electric Power, each holding a 15% stake.

Moggie said the station has two advanced coal plants equipped with boilers, steam turbines and generators from Japan, making it a highly effective power station with a 40% efficiency compared to 36% by conventional plants.

"Power stations using USC also have low usage of coal to generate power, making them more environmentally friendly as it reduces carbon dioxide emission," he said.

The construction of the plant began in 2015 and was completed in just over four years.

The first unit of the station commenced commercial operations on Aug 22,2019, and the second was commissioned four months later.

Moggie said the station, the biggest in Negri Sembilan, also had its own coal loading jetty.

"In the middle of last year, the Aveanna vessel carrying 165,950 metric tonnes of coal from Indonesia became the first ship to dock at the jetty," he said.

Moggie expressed confidence that the commissioning of the plant will further spur economic growth, particularly in Negri Sembilan.