PLN moves to improve electricity<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
State electricity company PT PLN dispatched on Sunday five power
\ngenerators to Lhokseumawe, the main city of North Aceh, as part
\nof its immediate action to mitigate severe power blackouts, and
\nchronic shortages over the years, in the wake of attacks on the
\ncompany's power lines in the area.<\/p>\n
PLN president Eddie Widiono said on Sunday that the dispatch
\nof five power generators was only an initial measure taken by the
\ncompany to deal with the long-standing power deficit in the war-
\ntorn province.<\/p>\n
\"Apart from the five generators sent from Batam (in Riau
\nprovince), seven more from Jakarta and West Java will arrive soon
\nin Aceh. We also have sent a team of 70 PLN personnel to work on
\nthe distribution of power from the new generators,\" he told
\nreporters in a press conference here.<\/p>\n
A massive power outage occurred in Aceh after an \"unidentified
\ngroup of people\" brought down transmission lines delivering
\nelectricity to Lhokseumawe and Bireuen in North Aceh and Takengon
\nin Central Aceh.<\/p>\n
Aside from areas surrounding the three cities, the provincial
\ncapital Banda Aceh also suffers from frequent power outages as
\nthe generator to supply electricity for the city now has to
\nprovide power for more regions.<\/p>\n
Eddie said the five generators -- with a combined capacity of
\n10 megawatts -- would supply power for some areas in Aceh while
\nthe reconstruction of power lines was still underway.<\/p>\n
He said that the reconstruction would last for two weeks to
\none month, depending on the pace of improvement in security
\nconditions.<\/p>\n
Eddie said that the company's action might not immediately be
\nable to replace some 40 megawatts that had been cut off, but it
\nwould give a sense of security to a portion of the population who
\nhad been living in darkness in the last several days.<\/p>\n
The PLN's top executive said that, if necessary, the company
\nwould ask for an allocation of up to 10 million metric British
\nthermal units (MMBTU) of natural gas from Arun liquefied natural
\ngas (LNG) company as fuel to spin the turbines at its plants in
\nthe province.<\/p>\n
\"We also plan to buy captive power from Arun,\" he said,
\nreferring to the rich gas field that produces LNG for the
\noverseas market only.<\/p>\n
If these measures do not prove sufficient, the state
\nelectricity company will rent more power generators with a total
\ncapacity of 20 megawatts to be installed in several towns in
\nAceh, especially regency capitals, Eddie said.<\/p>\n
With the shipment of the new generators and their maintenance,
\nand the reconstruction of power lines -- budgeted at around Rp
\n200 billion (US$24 million) -- the PLN top executive vowed that
\nthe power supply would return to normal within the next two
\nweeks.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pln-moves-to-improve-electricity-1447893297",
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