National Grid, Malaysia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

National Grid, Malaysia is the high-voltage electric power transmission

Electric power transmission

Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...

network

Grid (electricity)

An electrical grid is a vast, interconnected network for delivering electricity from suppliers to consumers. It consists of three main components: 1) generating plants that produce electricity from combustible fuels or non-combustible fuels ; 2) transmission lines that carry electricity from power...

in Peninsular Malaysia

Peninsular Malaysia

Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...

. It is operated and owned by Tenaga Nasional Berhad

Tenaga Nasional

Tenaga Nasional Berhad is the largest Electric utility company in Malaysia and also the largest power company in Southeast Asia with MYR 69.8 billion worth of assets. It serves over seven million customers throughout Peninsular Malaysia and also the eastern state of Sabah through Sabah Electricity...

(TNB) by its Transmission Division. There are two other electrical grids in Sabah

Sabah

Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...

and Sarawak

Sarawak

Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...

operated by Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd

Sabah Electricity

Sabah Electricity Sdn. Bhd. is an electrical company that generates, transmits and distributes electricity mainly in Sabah and Federal Territory of Labuan. It supplies electrical power to 413,983 customers distributed over a wide area of 74,000 km2. 82.8% of the customers are domestic...

and Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation

Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation

Syarikat SESCO Berhad is the privatized organization responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity for the Sarawak state in Malaysia. It was privatized on 1 July 2005.SESCo provides electricity to about 382 000 customers...

respectively.

The system spans the whole of Peninsular Malaysia, connecting electricity generation stations owned by TNB and Independent Power Producer

Independent Power Producer

An Independent Power Producer is an entity, which is not a public utility, but which owns facilities to generate electric power for sale to utilities and end users...

s (IPPs) to energy consumers. A small number of consumers, mainly steel mill

Steel mill

A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...

s and shopping mall

Shopping mall

A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...

s also take power directly from the National Grid.

History

The beginnings of the National Grid was slowly taking shape in 1964 when the Bangsar

Bangsar

Bangsar, also Bungsar , is an affluent residential suburb on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, lying about south-west of the city centre. It is part of the Lembah Pantai parliamentary constituency...

Power Station was connected to the Connaught Bridge Power Station

Connaught Bridge Power Station

Connaught Bridge Power Station is a power station in Klang Valley located near Connaught Bridge in Klang, Selangor. It is the oldest power station in Malaysia....

, with the line subsequently extended to Malacca.

By 1965, a plan was set to connect the electricity generating plants that were spread out all over the country. Plants identified to be linked were located at Paka

Paka

Paka is a coastal town facing the South China Sea in the state of Terengganu in Malaysia. Paka is now a busy town thriving on oil and gas activity near Kerteh. Paka is more popularly known as the home for the largest power station in Malaysia run by the national power company, Tenaga Nasional...

in Terengganu, Temengor, Kenering, Bersia and Batang Padang in Perak, Connaught Bridge, Kapar

Kapar

Kapar is a town in the Klang district of Selangor, Malaysia. The Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Power Station is located not far from town. The Kapar River which flows nearby the town centre empties into the Straits of Malacca....

and Serdang

Serdang

The state of Serdang was an ancient Malay-Indonesian monarchy, neighboring the Sultanate of Deli, to which it lost some territory.-Rulers:*1728 - 1782 Tuanku Umar Johan Pahlawan Alam Shah bin Tuanku Panglima Paderap [Kejeruan Junjungan], Raja of Serdang...

in Selangor, Cameron Highlands

Cameron Highlands

The Cameron Highlands is one of Malaysia’s most extensive hill stations. It covers an area of .To the north, its boundary touches that of Kelantan; to the west, it shares part of its border with Perak....

in Pahang, Perai

Perai

Perai is a main industrial area in Penang, Malaysia. It is situated in Seberang Perai, which is on the mainland....

in Penang, Port Dickson

Port Dickson

Port Dickson or PD to locals is a beach and holiday destination situated about 32 km from Seremban and 90 km from Kuala Lumpur. It is located in the state of Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia...

in Negeri Sembilan, Pergau in Kelantan, Pasir Gudang

Pasir Gudang

Pasir Gudang is an industrial town located 35 km east of Johor Bahru in Malaysia . It is the eastern end of the Johor Bahru metropolitan area. The population is around 100,000. It is connected by the 4 lane Pasir Gudang Highway, a trunk road, and a railway line to Johor Bahru...

in Johor and in Malacca.

The central area network with Connaught Bridge Power Station in Klang was the precursor of the energy grid; it also tapped into the Cameron Highlands Hydro scheme from the Sultan Yussuf Power Station, and was extended into a western network. Late in the 1980s, the loop was finally complete with the placement of Kota Bahru within the grid.

Transmission system

More than 420 transmission substations in the Peninsular are linked together by approximately 11,000 km of transmission lines operating at 132, 275 and 500 kilovolts (kV). The 500 kV transmission system is the single largest transmission system to be ever developed in Malaysia. Begun in 1995, Phase 1 involved the design and construction of the 500kV overhead transmission lines from Gurun

Gurun

Gurun is a small town and a major industrial park situated within the parliamentary district of Jerai in Kedah, Malaysia. "Gurun" in English means desert however the town does not represent the slightest meaning of its English translation. Gurun earned its name from the word "gerun", means terrify...

, Kedah

Kedah

Kedah is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km², and it consists of the mainland and Langkawi. The mainland has a relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice...

in the North along the west coast to Kapar

Kapar

, in the central region and from Pasir Gudang

Pasir Gudang

to Yong Peng

Yong Peng

Yong Peng is a regional town in Malaysia in the state of Johor. It has an area of 1911.6 hectares with an estimated population of 29,046. Yong Peng has two main interchanges on North-South Expressway including north to Kuala Lumpur and south to Johor Bahru....

in the south of Peninsular Malaysia.

The total distance covered for the 500 kV transmission lines is 522 km and the 275 kV portion is 73 km. Of the lines constructed, only the Bukit Tarek to Kapar sections had been energized at 500 kV. The remaining lines are presently energized at 275 kV. Later, in order to cater for the additional power transmission requirements from the 2,100 megawatt (MW) Manjung Power Station, the 500 kV system was extended from Bukit Tarek to Air Tawar and from Air Tawar to Manjung Power Station. In 2006, the 500 kV lines between Bukit Batu

Bukit Batu

Bukit Batu is a small town in the north tips of Kulaijaya District. Majlis Perbandaran Kulai administrated the town....

and Tanjung Bin were commissioned to carry the power generated by the 2,100 MW Tanjung Bin Power Station.

A project involving laying a 730 km high-voltage direct current transmission line and a 670 km undersea cable for the 2,400-megawatt Bakun hydroelectric dam has been considered. This may connect all three of Malaysia's electric utility companies with state grids: Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation

Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation

(SESCO) and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd

Sabah Electricity

(SESB). Many of Sabah and Sarawak's generation plants are still not interconnected to a grid.

Connection to Thailand

The original 117 MVA, 132 kV Single Circuit Line HVAC interconnection of 80 MW with Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand

Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand , , is a state enterprise that owns and manages the majority of Thailand's electricity generation capacity, as well as the nation's transmission network.EGAT is managed by the Ministry of Energy....

(EGAT) was commissioned in 1981, linking Bukit Ketri in the state of Perlis

Perlis

Perlis is the smallest state in Malaysia. It lies at the northern part of the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and has Satun and Songkhla Provinces of Thailand on its northern border. It is bordered by the state of Kedah to the south...

with Sadao

Sadao

-Places:* Sadao, Sadao - Sadao District - Songkhla Province, Southern Thailand* Sadao, Buachet - Buachet District - Surin Province North-Eastern Thailand* Sadao, Nang Rong - Nang Rong District - Buriram Province North-Eastern Thailand...

in Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

. A second interconnection was made via the HVDC Thailand-Malaysia

HVDC Thailand-Malaysia

The HVDC Thailand–Malaysia is a 110 kilometer long HVDC powerline between Khlong Ngae in Thailand at and Gurun in Malaysia. The HVDC Thailand–Malaysia, which crosses the border between Malaysia and Thailand at , serves for the coupling of the asynchronously operated power grids of Thailand and...

rated at 300 kV HVDC and 300 MW transmission capacity.

Connection to Singapore

In the South of Malaysia, the National Grid is connected to the transmission system of Singapore Power Limited

Singapore Power

Singapore Power is a company which provides electricity and gas transmission, distribution services, and market support services to more than a million customers in Singapore. It is the only electricity company in Singapore, and is also one of the largest corporations in Singapore...

(SP) at Senoko

Senoko

Senoko is located in Sembawang, in the northern part of Singapore. It is most known for Senoko Power Station, which generates and supplies electricity, and the Senoko Fishing Port.-Etymology:...

via two 230 kV submarine cables

Submarine power cable

Submarine power cables are major transmission cables for carrying electric power below the surface of the water. These are called "submarine" because they usually carry electric power beneath salt water but it is also possible to use submarine power cables beneath fresh water...

with a transmission capacity of 200 MW.

Power Generation

Power generation capacity connected to the Malaysian National Grid is 19,023 megawatt, with a maximum demand of 13,340 megawatt as of July 2007 according to Suruhanjaya Tenaga. The generation fuel mix is 62.6% gas, 20.9% coal, 9.5% hydro and 7% from other forms of fuel.

Distribution level

Distribution lines of 33 kV, 22 kV, 11 kV, 6.6 kV and 415/240 volt in the Malaysia distribution network

Electricity distribution

File:Electricity grid simple- North America.svg|thumb|380px|right|Simplified diagram of AC electricity distribution from generation stations to consumers...

connect to the National Grid via transmission substations where voltages are stepped down by transformer

Transformer

A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...

Major incidents

Following a major system collapse in 3 August 1996, TNB has undertaken joint studies with Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) to develop a controlled islanding
Rolling blackout
A rolling blackout, also referred to as load shedding, is an intentionally-engineered electrical power outage where electricity delivery is stopped for non-overlapping periods of time over geographical regions. Rolling blackouts are a last-resort measure used by an electric utility company in order...

scheme to prevent the occurrence of a complete system collapse by ensuring continuity of supply to the Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

Metropolitan and Multimedia Super Corridor
MSC Malaysia
MSC Malaysia . The Multimedia Super Corridor program was launched by Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia , circa 1996...

(MSC). The islanding scheme would basically be a "last line of defense" after all the normal emergency countermeasures such as underfrequency load shedding have operated.
In 13 January 2005 a power blackout on northern peninsular Malaysia occurred when a transmission line near Serendah
Serendah
Serendah is a town in the Hulu Selangor district of Selangor, Malaysia. One of the popular tourist spot in Serendah is Perigi Tujuh Serendah.-History:The area developed due to the tin mines...

, Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...

, had broken down. In response to this, the Central Area Reinforcement (CAR) project was approved to ensure security of power supply to the Klang Valley
Klang Valley
Klang Valley is an area in Malaysia comprising Kuala Lumpur and its suburbs, and adjoining cities and towns in the state of Selangor. An alternative reference to this would be Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Area or Greater Kuala Lumpur. It is geographically delineated by Titiwangsa Mountains to the...

.
In 22 April 2008 Sabah had the worst power outage since the commissioning of the east west power grid. Suspected vandals are believed to have removed steel pieces of a 132kV transmission tower that led to its collapse, triggering a major power blackout. An emergency temporary tower was to be built immediately but it also collapsed during construction killing a TNB personnel. On 1 May 2008, another tower collapsed due to missing structural members of the tower that were suspected of being stolen.