Some 60 Politeknik Brunei students visited two of the country’s power plants – Bukit Panggal Power Station and Berakas Power Station as part of the Brunei Mid-Year Conference and Exhibition 2022 (Brunei MYCE 2022) Energy Week’s initiative to raise awareness on the country’s current power generation technologies.
The visits, themed ‘Energy Security and Energy Transition: Today and Tomorrow’, was organised by the Autoriti Elektrik Negara Brunei Darussalam (AENBD).
The tour aimed to provide an educational awareness on the power plants’ operations, maintenance, technologies and digitalisation initiatives as well as provide an overview of the existing efforts to improve energy security and energy transition from the power generation side.
During the visit at Bukit Panggal Power Station, students were briefed on the history of the power station and how the technology used helped in generating electricity for the country.
The Bukit Panggal Power Station is operated by the Department of Electrical Services (DES) and began supplying electricity in 2008, with its capability to generate 116MW of electricity.
The establishment of the Bukit Panggal Power Station marks the start of the use of the Combined-Cycle technology by the DES, where waste heat generated from the gas turbines are reused to move the steam turbine instead of releasing it from the power generation system.
The combined-cycle technology is currently the country’s most efficient power generating system in operation.
Meanwhile, at Berakas Power Station, participants also visited the National Control Centre.
The National Control Centre started its operation in 2014, equipped with the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) technology which plays a central role in monitoring the transmission and distribution network systems remotely.
The technology supports the nation’s energy security by ensuring a continuous supply of electricity, thus maintaining efficient, quick and safe restoration.
It is a testimony of the power sector’s commitment in advancing the digitalisation and modernisation of its infrastructure towards maintaining energy security and advancing energy transition initiatives.
The Berakas Power Station, operated by the Berakas Power Company Sdn Bhd (BPC), has been providing a reliable power supply to serve approximately 40 per cent of the national power demand.
The plant utilises an innovative technology called the ORegen waste-heat recovery system that enables the gas turbine to produce extra power without any additional emissions or fuel consumption, thus increasing the output and efficiency, in further aligning with the national agenda to ensure energy security.
The transformation of the national energy landscape has changed considerably over the last decade and will continue to do so. Though the pace of change may be accelerating, the premise of that future energy vision remains the same for DES which is powered by the growing need to make the planet increasingly sustainable and decarbonised through carbon emission reduction.
The power sector in Brunei started in 1921 with the production of electricity via the diesel operated small-scale generator for its sole customer, the Department of Wireless and Telegraph. Since then, the Sultanate’s power sector evolved its power generation by means of its first diesel engine-powered station in 1935.
To date, eight power stations including Bukit Panggal, Berakas, Lumut, Belingus, Jerudong and Gadong 3 are in operation supplying electricity to 99.9 per cent of the population.
The power stations have undergone massive transformation throughout the past years, utilising technological innovation to increase their efficiency while maintaining safe, reliable and uninterrupted electricity supply to the population, in line with the energy security and energy transition agenda.
