GE’s Power Services has signed a multiyear service agreement (MYA) with Malaysian state government-owned utility and energy development company Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) for eight years of operations and maintenance (O&M) support at the Tanjung Kidurong Power Station in Bintulu, Sarawak.

The MYA includes training of O&M employees, technical support, major spare parts and predictivity solutions for power generation assets from GE’s Monitoring and Diagnostics (M&D) Center in Kuala Lumpur.

The eight-year contract’s anticipated benefits for Sarawak Energy include increased availability of power generated, large-scale energy conservation and significantly reduced maintenance costs.

This MYA comes six months after Sarawak Energy announced a $250 million contract with GE and Sinohydro for the 400-megawatt combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) block at the Tanjung Kidurong power station in Bintolu. GE and Sinohydro also will act as the engineering, procurement and construction contractors. The new CCGT block will be built within the existing power station, and construction is expected to be completed by 2019.

“In Sarawak Energy, we are constantly looking into ways to optimize the performance of our power plants by making use of improved technology and innovation wherever possible. GE’s expertise will enhance Tanjung Kidurong Power Station’s operational performance, making it more efficient and reliable in terms of its output,” said Sharbini Suhaili, Sarawak Energy Group Chief Executive Officer. “GE is also assisting us in terms of knowledge transfer to build up the competency of our plant operations team.”

GE’s solutions are expected to help the plant achieve better reliability and performance, including an efficiency increase of up to 20 percent in comparison to existing plants. The computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) will help SEB plan for and manage the Tanjung Kidurong Power Station more efficiently and effectively, and the M&D Center will provide efficient and prompt problem-solving guidance and help avoid false alarms. In addition, its early warnings can help prevent potential failure mechanisms and increase the availability and reliability of the Tanjung Kidurong plant.

Discussing the deal, Anders Maltesen, general manager—Asia Pacific for GE’s Power Services said, “Our total plant solutions include a CMMS, personnel training and remote monitoring and diagnostics. By using the M&D center’s predictive capabilities, Sarawak Energy will be able to utilize real-time data collection for enhanced decision-making. The Tanjung Kidurong Power Station could potentially reduce its maintenance costs by up to 30 percent.”

About 75 percent of Sarawak’s current power is renewable energy derived from hydropower plants Murum, Bakun and Batang Ai. To maintain diversity and security of supply and harness Sarawak’s indigenous coal and gas resources, about 15 percent of Sarawak’s generation mix is from its gas-powered plants and 10 percent from coal-fired plants.

This agreement aligns with future energy goals in Malaysia. According to Suruhanjaya Tenaga, the Malaysian Energy Commission, total energy consumption in the country is growing, but supply is dwindling. The Malaysian government plans to increase capacity by 10 gigawatts by 2020 by building 13 new power plants and expanding three existing facilities.