PLN accelerates hydro projects through 7,046 MW bundled procurement

PT PLN (Persero) is preparing a bundled procurement of hydropower projects with a total capacity of 7,046 megawatts (MW) to accelerate the implementation of the 2025–2034 Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL).

PLN’s Director of Project Management and New Renewable Energy, Suroso Isnandar, said the procurement scheme is designed to overcome bottlenecks in the hydropower plant project procurement process. “To accelerate the bottleneck in procurement, we designed the bundling procurement,” Suroso stated at the Indonesia Hydropower Summit 2026 in Jakarta on Wednesday.

According to PLN’s presentation, the procurement package, titled GIGA ONE Hydro, consists of the Sumatra Peaker with a capacity of 1,071 MW and Sumatra Baseload at 1,800 MW. The package also includes the Kalimantan Peaker at 150 MW, Kalimantan Baseload at 825 MW, Sulawesi Baseload Phase I at 1,400 MW, and Sulawesi Baseload Phase II at 1,800 MW.

“Currently, around 1,000 MW of the Sumatra Peaker package has entered the auction process,” he said. He explained that the Sumatra Baseload is still in the feasibility study stage. Meanwhile, the Kalimantan Peaker, Kalimantan Baseload, and the two phases of Sulawesi Baseload are in the process of finalising auction documents.

Suroso said PLN plans to open the Sumatra Baseload procurement in stages, starting with a capacity of around 350 MW. “The Sumatra Baseload, which should be 1.8 GW, will be launched partially, 350 MW first,” he revealed. According to him, the phased procurement considers the readiness of the Sumatra-Java electricity interconnection so that power from the developed plants can be channelled to the grid.

Suroso assessed that large-scale project procurement can create economies of scale, attract more participants, and generate more competitive bids. “The more participants, the more competitive. The larger the scale, the more competitive the results will be,” he said.

The procurement scheme is part of PLN’s efforts to accelerate hydropower development, which requires a relatively long timeline, from feasibility studies, permitting, procurement, power purchase agreement drafting, financial close, to construction. Under the 2025–2034 RUPTL, the development of hydropower and mini-hydropower plants is planned to reach 11,689.99 MW across 315 projects.

Suroso stressed that accelerating hydropower project construction requires support from grid readiness, regulatory certainty, stable contracts, and fair risk-sharing between PLN and developers.