PLN admits power reserves running thin

PLN admits power reserves running thin

Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State-owned electricity company PT PLN said that power
reserves on Java and Bali had been depleted, but stopped short of
saying there could be more blackouts in the future.

Company president Eddie Widiono said that the current reserve
margin had reached 28 percent, which is lower than the minimum
reserve margin of 30 percent to avert power disruptions.

"Our power reserves have been depleted. Consequently, if we
can't meet the minimum standby reserve, we will go into alert
mode," Eddie said on Wednesday on the sidelines of a discussion
of electricity rates.

"But our reserves have recovered. Hopefully, there won't be
rotating blackouts again in the future," he said.

Eddy said PLN's total installed capacity on Java and Bali
stood at 18,610 megawatts (MW), while the peak load is 13,300 MW.
It therefore has a reserve of 5,310 MW or 28 percent of its
capacity.

However, Eddie said, in reality, its reserve was only between
5 percent and 10 percent as between 3,000 and 3,500 MW of the
capacity was set aside for maintenance.

Experts have pointed out that with such a thin reserve margin,
Java was at high risk of experiencing power disruptions at any
peak-load time period.

Energy analysts have long warned of a looming power crisis on
Java and Bali since there has been no new additional power
infrastructure since the start of the economic crisis in 1997.

The disruption to the power supply on Java and Bali last week
caused blackouts in some areas of the two islands.

The blackouts caused problems for industrial users, some of
which require a round-the-clock supply of power.

The government said the power disruption was caused by
technical problems at four power plants: the Gresik power plant
(600 MW), Gunung Salak (165 MW), Saguling (700 MW) and Cirata
(1,008 MW).

Eddy said PLN had managed to repair some of the power plants.

Eddie said that PLN could not fully operate some of its power
plants in the region, particularly gas-fired ones, as they had
been forced to use oil products, such as fuel, rather than
natural gas due to a shortage of gas.

"Since oil products are expensive, we would rather operate the
power plants only during the peak-load time instead of around the
clock," Eddie said.

In addition, he said, the use of oil products in the power
plant engines caused unnecessary wear.

"Normally, power plant engines should be overhauled after they
are operated for 6,000 hours. But with the use of oil, that
operation period is shortened to 2,500 hours," he said.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro
said the government would launch an audit on PLN's power plants
to examine their real installed capacity and to find ways to
boost their efficiency.

"For example, a power plant has an installed capacity of 100
MW but it may be lower because it has been running for 20 years,"
he said on Wednesday at the same discussion.

Purnomo said demand for power plants had outpaced the supply.

To increase the power supply, Purnomo said the government
would offer an open tender to investors as soon as the government
resolved the price dispute with 27 independent power producers.