KUCHING: Sarawak Energy has confirmed that the controlled release of water from the Bakun Hydroelectric Plant (HEP) reservoir would commence Feb 12 for an estimated period of three weeks.
The discharged volume is released in a controlled manner to minimise impact on areas downstream. This has been the standard practice since the completion of Bakun HEP seven years ago.
The reservoir level is managed through regulated release during periods of high rainfall, and the procedure would cease once the water level at the reservoir normalises.
As Bakun HEP holds back a large volume of river and rainwater, the incidence and severity of the seasonal floods downstream have been reduced since the dam’s completion. However, rainfall downstream of the dam into catchments and tributaries of the Rejang can still result in floods.
