PLN moves to improve electricity
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
State electricity company PT PLN dispatched on Sunday five power generators to Lhokseumawe, the main city of North Aceh, as part of its immediate action to mitigate severe power blackouts, and chronic shortages over the years, in the wake of attacks on the company's power lines in the area.
PLN president Eddie Widiono said on Sunday that the dispatch of five power generators was only an initial measure taken by the company to deal with the long-standing power deficit in the war- torn province.
"Apart from the five generators sent from Batam (in Riau province), seven more from Jakarta and West Java will arrive soon in Aceh. We also have sent a team of 70 PLN personnel to work on the distribution of power from the new generators," he told reporters in a press conference here.
A massive power outage occurred in Aceh after an "unidentified group of people" brought down transmission lines delivering electricity to Lhokseumawe and Bireuen in North Aceh and Takengon in Central Aceh.
Aside from areas surrounding the three cities, the provincial capital Banda Aceh also suffers from frequent power outages as the generator to supply electricity for the city now has to provide power for more regions.
Eddie said the five generators -- with a combined capacity of 10 megawatts -- would supply power for some areas in Aceh while the reconstruction of power lines was still underway.
He said that the reconstruction would last for two weeks to one month, depending on the pace of improvement in security conditions.
Eddie said that the company's action might not immediately be able to replace some 40 megawatts that had been cut off, but it would give a sense of security to a portion of the population who had been living in darkness in the last several days.
The PLN's top executive said that, if necessary, the company would ask for an allocation of up to 10 million metric British thermal units (MMBTU) of natural gas from Arun liquefied natural gas (LNG) company as fuel to spin the turbines at its plants in the province.
"We also plan to buy captive power from Arun," he said, referring to the rich gas field that produces LNG for the overseas market only.
If these measures do not prove sufficient, the state electricity company will rent more power generators with a total capacity of 20 megawatts to be installed in several towns in Aceh, especially regency capitals, Eddie said.
With the shipment of the new generators and their maintenance, and the reconstruction of power lines -- budgeted at around Rp 200 billion (US$24 million) -- the PLN top executive vowed that the power supply would return to normal within the next two weeks.