Geothermal plant to boost electric supply on Bali

Geothermal plant to boost electric supply on Bali

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

In the last few years, Bali has been struggling to increase its electricity supply to support its rapid growth, particularly in the tourism industry, garment and other industrial sectors as well as demands for domestic needs.

The need for electricity has been rapidly increasing for the past ten years along with the growth of industry and the growth of the island's population, which is over 3.3 million citizens.

It is unfortunate that Bali still depends on Java for much of its electricity, which ranges between 350 Megawatts (MW) and 400 MW during peak hours.

At present, Bali "imports" around 200 MW, or 40 percent of the total supply, from Paiton Power Plant in East Java, which is distributed by an undersea cable in the Bali Strait, according to A.A. Mustika, spokesman of PT PLN.

The rest comes from "domestic" power stations at; PLTD Pesanggaran (75.82MW), PLTG Pesanggaran (125.5MW) and PLTG Gilimanuk (133.8 MW).

"Bali is very vulnerable because of its dependency upon power from another island. It has less than 20 percent reserve from its maximum usage. Ideally, the electricity reserve should be more than 20 percent," he said.

PT PLN has been engaged in numerous efforts to increase the capacity of its power plants in Bali and also to invite private sector investors to develop new power plants on the island.

In l995, for instance, the government had agreed to a develop Geothermal Power Plant near the famous Bedugul resort in Tabanan regency, around 24 kilometers north of Denpasar.

Due to the 1997-1998 economic crisis, a large number of strategic projects, including Bedugul power plant, had to be indefinitely postponed.

During the inauguration of a number of Independent Power Producer projects in Jepara, Central Java in July 2003, the government renegotiated the planned construction of several renewable electricity power plants, which also included Bedugul.

Previously, the government issued a new law on energy giving the authority to the provincial administration to manage its own energy as well as to develop alternative energy resources.

Based on the new law, the Bali provincial administration decided to resume the development of the Bedugul power plant. The Bali government has appointed Bali Energy Ltd., in cooperation with PT Pertamina to develop the project.

IB Ngurah Wijaya, president director of Bali Energy, is very optimistic about the project's prospects. He said with a US$46.7 investment, Bedugul will be able to provide an estimated 10 MW when the project is completed by April 2006.

"Currently, we are working on drilling three wells in the location to explore the capacity of each well to produce electricity," explained Ngurah during a seminar here recently.

Meanwhile, Sukusen Soemarinda, general manager of geothermal projects at Pertamina, added that by June 2010, Bedugul power plant could be able to supply around 175 MW to PLN.

The supply will be divided into four stages depending of the exploration results. The first stage will be 10 MW, the second stage will comprise of 55 MW (in 2008) and the rest will be implemented in the third stage (2009) and the fourth stage, explained Soemarinda.

It is estimated that Bedugul power plant has geothermal potential capable of producing a maximum of some 350 MW to 400 MW, almost 100 percent of the island's current maximum demand.

Mastika admitted that the development of Bedugul power plant would certainly help PT PLN in providing for the island. Bali has great geothermal potential, which can be processed into abundant electric energy, Mastika said.

"At present, PT PLN doesn't have enough money to develop new power plants. With Bedugul's development (by private investors), we can use our money for other needs," he explained.

Furthermore, he said, geothermal energy is environmentally friendly. Compared to other electricity power plants which use other systems, geothermal plants will cause minimum impacts on its surroundings, he said.

In regard to environmental impact, I Made Suarnata, director of Wisnu Environmental Foundation, strongly urged those involved in the development of the Bedugul power plant to be transparent.

"They have to clearly inform the people on the possible environmental impacts, which may appear during the construction and operation of that power plant," Suarnata said.

The people, especially those living adjacent to the project, he said, must clearly understand both the benefits and the disadvantages of having such a power plant.

Unfortunately, the foundation has yet to collect additional data and information regarding the construction of the geothermal power plant.

"However small, the development of such a huge project will cause environmental damage to the area," Suarnata said.

Bedugul resort is a cool area, home to three pristine lakes, Bedugul, Beratan and Bunyan lakes. Bedugul is located between Tabanan and Buleleng regencies.

Suarnatha added that he feared that the water level of Beratan Lake could be reduced significantly, and that would have a wider impact, because the water from the lake is one of the important water sources for the entire Subak traditional irrigation system.

Atik Suardy, a geologist from Bali Energy, admitted that for its initial exploration, the project would need water from other sources. "But, when it is already operating, they will use ground water from the wells."

According to IB Cakra Sudarsana, head of Bali's Public Works Agency, the negotiating price set by Bali Energy and PT Pertamina would be US$5.5 cent per Kwh.

"This will be significant for consumers," he said.

Soemarinda explained that the price of electric energy from Bedugul power plant would be 7 percent cheaper than the current price set by PLN. It is hoped that consumers will benefit from this new price.

Currently, PLN charges Rp 620 per Kwh. PLN is now providing electricity to 600,000 customers across Bali. He said PLN pays Rp 637 from Paiton power plant. This means, PLN still provides a subsidy of Rp 17 per Kwh.

When Bedugul power plant is completed, PLN will likely pay less money for energy. Yet, it does not necessarily mean that the price for consumers could be reduced immediately, Mastika said.

"We may use the margin price for various maintenance projects in order to improve our services for the customers," he explained.