PLN Plans Weather Modification Technology to Strengthen Sulbagsel Power System Against El Nino

PT PLN is planning the implementation of Weather Modification Technology (TMC) as one of the mitigation measures to strengthen the southern Sulawesi (Sulbagsel) power system in the face of the prolonged drought or El Nino phenomenon predicted to occur this year. The Manager of Communication and TJSL (Social and Environmental Responsibility) for PLN UID Sulselrabar, Ahmad Amirul Syarif, stated that this TMC is carried out to maintain water elevation in strategic power plant reservoirs as a mitigation effort against prolonged drought. “Power plant managers are urged to immediately carry out weather modification if necessary, in synergy with the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG),” he said in Makassar on Tuesday. PLN is also strengthening the Sulbagsel power system, including the placement of a power plant in Palu with a capacity of 2x50 MW and the operation of mobile power plants in Pinrang, Makassar, and Kolaka with a total capacity of 120 MW. In addition, Ahmad said, PLN has carried out scheduling of power plant maintenance so that they can operate maximally to face the potential El Nino. “Following 2023, there has been an addition of distributed power plant capacity in the Sulbagsel power system with a total capacity of 300 Megawatts,” Ahmad added. These steps were taken in line with the energy crisis that occurred in 2023. At that time, extreme drought reduced the production capacity of Hydropower Plants (PLTA) in the Sulbagsel region by up to 75 percent. From a total installed capacity of 850 Megawatts (MW), the shrinking water flow could only drive turbines to produce around 200 MW, leading to a policy of rotational blackouts in South Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi. Although PLN is optimistic that the current supply is sufficient to serve peak load, the company still requests public participation in maintaining the supply-demand balance. With a combination of strengthening reserve power plants, optimisation of renewable energy sources, and load management on the customer side, PLN hopes that the stability of the power supply in the Sulawesi corridor will remain maintained amid the weather anomaly threat this year. The public is also urged to use electricity wisely, including increasing vigilance in electricity use during the dry season to prevent fire hazards. “If no longer in use, please unplug electrical plugs to prevent short circuits,” he said.