PORT DICKSON, March 2 (Bernama) -- The Energy, Water and Telecommunications Ministry is working out a supplementary agreement with independent power producers (IPPs) for their role in future, its minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik said Thursday.

"I hope to be talking to the IPPs to work out a supplementary agreement to take into account the future after the concession (ends). It's for the role of IPPs to play in the future," he said after the Jimah Energy Ventures Coal-Fired Power Plant commencing date launching in Jimah here today.

The government, he added, may have to look 30 years ahead as the contracts with IPPs will end after 25 years.

On another matter, Dr Lim said there will be no more and no new IPPs, including for Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) power plants, from now on.

"I'm asking those who have ideas for new IPPs to please forget about it. Since I came in, I have made no commmitment for that. Especially for gas and coal because the prices are not dependable and keep going up and up," he said.

"We have been very generous with our (power) reserves. Two years ago we had 45 percent and now 38 percent and it's still too high. It's good to have all these reserves but it costs money for Tenaga (to maintain)," he added.

Dr Lim said the "sunken cost" borne by TNB is costly because the power is not used by users.

On the restructuring of electricity tariffs, the minister said there will be no increase until TNB has shown that it is efficient.

He said 85 percent of TNB's cost is fixed to paying capacity charges to the IPPs in loan repayment, and rest in maintenance, repairing switchyard, repairing sub-stations and changing old cables.

Also present at the event was Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan Tuanku Jaafar Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Tuanku Ampuan Negeri Sembilan Tuanku Najihah Tunku Besar Burhanuddin, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and Jimah Energy Ventures Sdn Bhd's chairman Tunku Naquiyuddin Tuanku Jaafar.

Jimah Energy Ventures, an IPP which developed a 2x700-megawatt coal-fired power plant project in Mukim Jimah here, is on track to meet its commercial operation date in 2009.