Java-Bali power grid running on empty, warns PLN
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Java-Bali power grid has been on alert since Tuesday as a result of the coal-fired Suralaya power plant in West Java working at less-than-full capacity due to low coal supplies, an official at the state power firm said on Wednesday.
Herman Darnel Ibrahim, the director of transmission and distribution for state power generator PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) said that disruptions at the Muara Karang power plant in North Jakarta and the Paiton plant in East Java, both owned by the state firm, had also reduced the grid's power reserves.
"The Java-Bali power grid is on alert mode at the moment as it is running with power reserves of less than 600 megawatts (MW)," Herman told The Jakarta Post.
"As long as there are no disruptions to one of the other big power plants (in Java-Bali), there should not be any blackouts," Herman said.
According to Herman, the Suralaya power plant can only supply 2,200 MW out of its 3,400 MW capacity due to disruptions to its coal supplies.
"Suralaya is getting only 25,000 tons of coal per day while it needs 35,000 tons a day to run at full capacity," Herman said.
Suralaya, owned by PLN, is one of the main power plants in Java-Bali power grid. It gets its coal supplies mostly from state coal miner PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (BA). The coal is transported by train from BA's mine in Tanjung Enim, South Sumatra, to Tarahan port in Lampung, from where it is then shipped to Suralaya.
However, coal delivery from Tanjung Enim to Tarahan have been disrupted since December last year due to problems affecting the railway.
Herman declined to give details on the causes of the disruptions at Muara Karang and Paiton.
The PLN website says that the Java-Bali power grid has an installed capacity of 17,700 MW, but could only supply 13,718 MW on Wednesday. With peak load reaching 13,600, reserves stood at only 118 MW.
But it was better than Tuesday when the Java-Bali grid only had a reserve of 60 MW with the peak load reaching 13,553 MW and supply standing at 13,613 MW.
To avoid blackouts, the Java-Bali grid needs a reserve equal to the capacity of one big power plant, that is, about 600 MW.
Herman said PLN was optimistic that the coal supplies to Suralaya will restored and the technical problems in Muara Karang and Paiton would be overcome soon.
He said the electricity situation in the Java-Bali are was better compared to last year.
Last year, the Java-Bali grid experienced 11 blackouts and went on alert mode 86 times.
"From January to April this year, the Java-Bali grid has been on alert mode 13 times but we have had no blackouts," he said.
Herman said the power reserve in the Java-Bali grid would leap to more than 1,000 MW once the "repowering" process at the gas- fired 800-MW Muara Tawar plant in Bekasi was completed in June.