PLN to spend Rp 881b to upgrade Java-Bali grid

JAKARTA. State power company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) said it had set aside Rp 881.34 billion (US$95.84 million) this year to improve the reliability of the Java and Bali grid system and reduce blackouts.

The company’s operation director for Java and Bali, I Gusti Ngurah Adnyana, said of the funds, Rp 242.58 billion would be allocated for reconditioning gas insulated substations (GIS), Rp 99 billion for reconditioning 500 kilo-volt (kV) transformers, Rp 175.24 billion for replacing main transmission materials, Rp 32 billion for replacing supporting equipment for transmissions, Rp 8.08 billion for replacing relays and Rp 324.37 billion for replacing aging main equipment.

“A lot of existing equipment in our grid system has aged, and we need to replace it or there will be power supply interruptions, as recently happened in Jakarta,” he told reporters at a media briefing session at his office in Jakarta on Wednesday.

On April 26, a rolling blackout hit Jakarta, disrupting services for around two hours, due to a disturbance at the Gandul power station.

Investments in electricity transmission and distribution were necessary to cope with growing demand, Ngurah said.

The company’s data showed that the peak burden in the evening jumped 8.03 percent to 20,172 megawatts (MW) in April this year from 18,673 MW in the same month last year, while during the day, the burden was up by 8.71 percent to 19,098 MW from 17,567 MW.

“If the country’s economy grows by 6 percent, electricity supply must grow by 9 percent to back it up. It means we have to add more than 2,000 MW of power per year,” Ngurah said.

He said that in 2012, PLN would add 32 500-kV transformers in Java and Bali with a total capacity of 5,335 megavolt-amperes (MVA) and 106 150-kV transformers with a combined capacity of 5,970 MVA.

Next year, the firm would not add more 500-kV transformers, but would install 39 150-kV transformers with a capacity of 2,380 MVA, he continued.

To strengthen reliability, PLN plans to construct 28 power stations in Java and Bali this year with a capacity of 2,200 MVA. Two stations will be built in Bali, nine in East Java, seven in Central Java, five in West Java and five in Jakarta and Banten.

A 1,007-kilometer transmission line will also be installed this year.

Ngurah said PLN needed huge amounts of investment to catch up with growing power consumption.

Compared to neighboring countries, the frequency of blackouts in Indonesia is still disappointing. In 2011, the duration of blackouts in the country reached 342 minutes, while in Malaysia and Korea, the blackouts only lasted 70.4 minutes and 15.15 minutes respectively.

This year, PLN aims to reduce the duration of blackouts to only 150 minutes. As of March, 27.45 minutes of blackouts had taken place nationwide.

To improve efficiency, the company has significantly reduced its consumption of subsidized fuels. As of April, 60.4 percent of primary energy used to generate electricity came from coal, followed by 21.7 percent from natural gas, 6.3 percent from geothermal, 5.1 percent from hydro and 6.5 percent from oil-based fuels.

“Our target is to reduce the oil-fuels percentage to 5.6 percent in 2012,” Ngurah said. (Rangga D. Fadillah/ The Jakarta Post)