PLN signs contracts to buy power from 2 private firms
JAKARTA (JP): The state-owned electricity company PT PLN has signed two more contracts to buy power from private companies, taking the total to 23 private power suppliers which are expected to generate 7,726 Megawatts (MW) by the year 2001.
"We hope that all 23 projects will start operating between next year and 2001 to support our economic growth," Minister of Mines and Energy I.B. Sudjana said yesterday at a signing ceremony for two of the contracts.
PLN signed the agreements yesterday with PT Citra Kartikadaya and PT Bajradaya Sentranusa, which will respectively construct a 450 MW coal-fired power plant in Cilacap, Central Java, and a 180 MW hydropower plant in Asahan, North Sumatra.
Sudjana said that, of the additional 7,726 MW, 4,930 MW would be generated by seven coal-fired power plants, 756 MW by three combined-cycle plants, 60 MW by a diesel plant, 1,800 MW by 11 geothermal power plants and 180 MW by a hydropower plant.
PLN president Djiteng Marsudi said after the ceremony that the 7,726 MW were part of the 45,000 MW generation capacity which the government had offered to the private sector.
PLN plans to increase its own generation capacity by 3,000 MW to 15,000 MW in the next five years.
He said the projects aimed to meet demand for electricity in the 2000s.
"Our electricity demand grows 20 percent a year. Since electricity development will proceed in stages according to electricity demand, there will be no oversupply," he said.
He said PLN should prepare a generation capacity of up to 130 percent of electricity demand, with 30 percent in reserve.
But Sudjana, seemingly concerned about oversupply, urged PLN to step up its nationwide marketing program.
"We're very concerned by the fact that some areas in the country still suffer electricity shortages, while others have an oversupply," he said.
PT Citra Kartikadaya -- 35 percent owned by Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan, 35 percent by Duke Energy Group of the U.S., 20 percent by PT Bimantara Citra and 10 percent by PT Kanugrahan Kartika Perkasa -- will build a 450 MW coal-fired power plant in Cilacap, Central Java, under a 20-year build- operate-and-transfer scheme.
M. Tachril, the vice chairman of PT Bimantara Citra, said the consortium would invest US$500 million to sell electricity from its Cilacap plant for 6.3 U.S. cents a Kilowatt Hour (kWh).
He said the plant would be built in 34 months.
PT Bajradaya Sentranusa -- 33.3 percent owned by PT Pembangkit Listrik Jawa Bali, one of PLN's two subsidiaries, 33.3 percent by PT Tridaya Esta and 33.3 percent by PT Bajragraha Sentranusa -- will build the 180 MW Asahan I hydropower plant in Asahan, North Sumatra, under a 30-year build-operate-and-own scheme.
Bajradaya Sentranusa president Husni Sabar refused to say how much the consortium planned to invest in the Asahan plant. But he said his company would sell electricity to PLN for 7.4 U.S. cents a kWh in its first 15 years of operation and for 3.5 U.S. cents in the second 15 years.
"Overall, our electricity price will be 4.94 U.S. cents a kWh, which is the cheapest so far offered by private generators in Indonesia," he said, adding that construction would start early next year.
Freeport
Meanwhile, the chairman of PLN's district office in Jayapura, Fuad Alhadi, said PT Freeport Indonesia was building a 260 MW combined-cycle power plant in Timika subdistrict, Irian Jaya.
He said the electricity from the power plant, scheduled for completion in early 1998, would be mostly used by PT Freeport for mining.
Fuad said PLN was willing to buy Freeport's electricity surplus but, because of its different frequency, the general public around the mine would not be able to use it.
"The combined cycle power plant will use the American system with 60 Hertz standard frequency. But we in Indonesia use 50 Hertz standard frequency," he said.
He said it would be better if the company used the Indonesian standard so the surplus could be used by local people. (bnt)