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Sares lights up 3,100 remote households

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Liwan (5th right) presents certificates of ownership to representatives of the 13 villages in Nanga Merit. With him are Hulu Rajang MP, Datuk Wilson Ugak Kumbong (3rd right) and Sarawak Energy’s vice president for Rural Electrification, Dr Chen Shiun (6th right).

KAPIT: The Sarawak Alternative Rural Electrification Scheme (Sares) has provided 24-hour free renewable energy to almost 3,100 households in142 remote villages here.

Assistant Minister of Utilities (Rural Electricity)  Datuk Liwan Lagang said over 1009 households from 49 villages in Nanga Merit, a sub-district of Kapit, now had access to free electricity.

Sares is funded by the state government through Ministry of Utilities and implemented by Sarawak Energy.

“The Sares system gives our rural folk the same access to electricity that town people have. Although they don’t have to pay for the electricity bills, they have the responsibility of operating and maintaining the system themselves.

“The system displaces noisy diesel generators and provides convenience and ease to the lives of the people here and in many other remote communities of Sarawak. We hope that you will take care of these systems so that they can last many years into the future,” he said during a Sares handing over ceremony held at  Rumah Entitili in Kapit on Monday.

He added over RM2.37 billion had been allocated by the state government for extending the transmission and distribution of electricity supply infrastructure into more rural areas by providing standalone system solutions such as Sares.

“It will take several more years before we can supply grid-connected electricity supply to remote villages with no proper road access.

“However, through Sares, we ensure reliable and renewable electricity reaches them much earlier,” he added.

The Sarawak government and the Ministry of Utilities through Sarawak Energy aim to light up about 22,360 rural households in the coming years with reliable 24-hour electricity supply.

The Sares system provides 3,000Wh of renewable electricity per day, sufficient to power up a typical rural household’s basic needs and reduces the need to travel to town frequently to buy provisions and diesel for generator sets.

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