The recent decision by Rio Tinto Alcan to pull out of a RM6 billion aluminum smelter project next to the Bakun Dam in Sarawak ends a five-year campaign to find something - anything - to do with the 2,400 megawatts of power generated by the mammoth dam, one of the cherished mega-projects of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The cancellation, over how much to charge for the dam's power, leaves both the Malaysian government and the state government in Sarawak stumbling around with vast amounts of generated power and nothing to use it for...