KUCHING: Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) will commence its seasonal controlled release of water from the Bakun hydroelectric plant's reservoir for five weeks starting Monday (Dec 19) to Jan 23.
The state utility company said the procedure, which involves releasing regulated volumes of water through gated spillways, was part of its standard management practice to regulate upstream water levels and maintain the reservoir at a safe level.
"In compliance with the requirement to engage with Sarawak Rivers Board prior to the controlled release, the relevant communities are notified at least two days ahead of the scheduled release," SEB said in a statement on Thursday (Dec 15).
According to SEB, the severity of downstream flooding had been minimised since the commissioning of the Bakun hydroelectric plant, as the dam holds back a large volume of rainwater.
SEB also said it implemented a dynamic water dispatch management system in 2020 to integrate data on weather and inflow forecasts.
"This enables water release from Sarawak Energy’s plants to be modelled, incorporating predictive weather patterns and providing more accurate inflows and forecast reservoir levels up to six months or more.
"The system provides for better planning and scheduling of controlled release, resulting in better water level management upstream and downstream for river navigation during the drier season and flood mitigation during rainier periods," SEB said.
It added that the system was currently used at SEB's three hydroelectric plants of Batang Ai, Murum and Bakun to manage the interaction between weather, water flows and water release requirements.
