KUCHING, Nov 22 — The amendment to Sarawak’s Electricity Ordinance passed by the State Assembly (DUN) yesterday will allow homeowners who have solar panels with up to 50 kilowatts (KW) production capacity at their residences to sell the excess electricity to the main supply grid.

Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg said the new law would give a new source of income for the homeowners and at the same time, no licence would be required for the installation of panels with such capacity.

"This would also be an additional source of clean power to add to other renewable sources, especially hydropower,” he said in a statement posted on the Premier’s official Facebook page, Sarawakku, today.

The statement said Abang Johari made the remarks at a dinner organised by the Sarawak Association of Bumiputera Consultant Engineers in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, where he is currently attending a three-day 41st Conference of Asean Federation of Organisations of Engineers (AFEO).

The Premier said the new law would open up further opportunities for the engineering fraternity in Sarawak as houses needed new designs in line with the new policy which he described as historic.

On an amendment to the state’s Distribution of Gas Ordinance which was also passed by the State Assembly yesterday, Abang Johari said it was an important and historic amendment that would empower Petros, the state’s oil and gas company, to be the sole gas aggregator in Sarawak.

The law would make Petros, the single entity responsible for gas distribution in Sarawak in line with the State’s Gas Roadmap initiative that would involve both LPG and offshore gas feedstock to the downstream industries.

Again, he pointed out that this initiative would open even more opportunities for Sarawak’s engineers as many aspects of engineering services and expertise were required to realise the Roadmap’s objectives.

Abang Johari, who arrived in Bali yesterday afternoon, will be conferred the Distinguished Honourary Fellow Award by AFEO and later deliver a short address to 1,000 delegates from 10 Asean member countries.

Accompanying him were Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Port Development, Datuk Zaidel Lariwoo and senior Sarawak government officials. — Bernama