SYPNOSIS

The Talk will focus on four major strategic challenges that need to be addressed by energy policy planners in formulating the Nation’s energy   security agenda towards ensuring reliable, clean and sustainable electricity supply requirements  post-2020 planning horizon (up to 2050).

The Four Strategic challenges  that will be deliberated are:

Challenge No.1 : Growing Electricity Demand-Generation Supply Requirement  
This will include the projected electricity demand forecast and the necessary generation expansion simulation study to secure the reliability level (operating reserve margin/loss of load probability of 1 day/year) to meet peak power capacity demand (MW) and energy demand (GWh) for each year of the planning horizon years.

Challenge No. 2: Fuel Security viz-a-viz Existing National Energy Policies
This   will address on (a) resource accessibility of indigenous gas supply (b) Gas Pricing Policy/Acceptance of Price Risk, and ©Resource Accessibilty and Pricing Risk of Coal

Challenge No.3: Carbon Emission and Climate Change
This will be discussed in relation to Challenge No.1 in terms of fuel-type power plants that will be optimized/selected by the Generation Expansion Simulation Study with different scenarios of fuel-type power plant candidates.

Challenge No. 4: The Nuclear Option
This will be discussed in the context of the Government Economic Transformation Program (ETP) – A Road Map for  Powering the Economy with  Oil, Gas and Energy. In this, the Government has taken a national stand with respect to Nuclear Energy option in diversifying the fuel mix for electricity generation, besides coal and gas. This. will also be elaborated in relation to the WASP Generation Expansion Simulation Plan Scenario Study and the levellized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) Comparing Coal, Gas and Nuclear fuel option.

Finally, the Talk will conclude with the proposed way forward in addressing the national energy security agenda for electricity demand-generation balance in terms of fuel policy mix and diversification.


BIODATA OF SPEAKER

Ir. Dr Amir Basha Ismail served LLN/TNB for 33 years (1974-2007). He was one of those several local pioneer engineers who were involved in the planning,design and  operation of the 500kV/275kV/132kV National Power System  Grid (1979-1993), holding positions  of senior engineer and chief engineer in the Development Planning and System Operation divisions of TNB. In 1994, when TNB was instructed by the Government to set up its own university, Dr. Amir was one of those several engineers from TNB who were entrusted to the university project and was made the Founding Dean of College of Engineering , Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) . When TNB Research Sdn. Bhd. (another subsidiary of TNB and located next to UNITEN),) and its associated laboratories were being  set up at about the same time as UNITEN, Ir. Dr. Amir was then assigned to TNB Research as its General  Manager and later became its Managing Director from 1998 -2002. He was then assigned again to UNITEN as the Dean of College Graduate Studies/Professor of  Power Engineering Centre until his retirement  from TNB in 2007.
From 2008, he joined Minconsult Sdn. Bhd. as the Senior Consultant/General Manager leading/assisting   teams that were involved  in power system projects , such as power generating  plants, electric traction railway projects (LRT/MRT and KTMB), renewal energy projects (large-scale  FiT Solar PV projects, mini-hydros), Management & Engineering Audits of electricity supply industry and formulation of Feasibility Study Reports/Master Plan Study Reports  related to Energy/Electricity Planning. In 2013, he was appointed by University Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) as the Visiting Professor at the School of Electrical Engineering Systems.