Repair work sarts on damaged Madura underwater cables
SURABAYA (JP): State electricity company PLN began on Wednesday repairs on two damaged underwater cables between Java and the outlying island of Madura.
Head of PLN's East Java distribution office Hizban Achmad said the task would take two months.
The cables -- allegedly damaged by the Singaporean-flagged Kota Indah on Feb. 19 -- are being repaired by British Insulation Cable Company (BICC) of London.
BICC produced the cables and installed them in the Madura Strait in 1986.
"The repair work was actually scheduled on Tuesday but due to some problems with BICC's barge, the repair work was delayed until today," Hizban said in a news conference on Wednesday.
"But, God willing, we shall be able to supply the island with enough power by the end of this month."
PLN will pay BICC Rp 55 billion (US$6.3 million) for its services.
PLN accused Kota Indah, owned by Sinagapore's Pacific International Lines, with damaging the cables by dragging them with its anchor off Gresik Port in East Java.
PLN spent about Rp 215 billion (about US$130 million based on the 1986 exchange rate) to buy and install the cables.
The damage has cut power from the Gresik power plant to Madura's population of three million since Feb. 19.
The island has no power plant and is dependent on the power supply from Java, which is transmitted through a four-kilometer underwater cables.
PLN has provided several diesel power generators to continue supplying power during the transmission problem. However, the generators can only supply about 45 megawatts (MW) from the island's demand of 70-MW.
Minister of Mines and Energy Kuntoro Mangkusubroto earlier said repairs could take months if the damaged part of the cables was longer than PLN's 170-meter-long reserve cables.
He warned the cables were not available on the spot market and PLN would have to order the cables from manufacturers if the reserve cables were insufficient.
"Fortunately, after studying the damage, we found that only 80 meters of the cables were broken. Thus, we don't need to order new cables and we can immediately replace the broken parts of the cables with our reserve cables," Hizban said.
PLN's president Adhi Satriya earlier said PLN would sue PIL for damages in Surabaya. The 164-meter-long Kota Indah is reportedly insured by P&I Club Britannia London.
Hizban said PLN was preparing documents for the lawsuit and the vessel had been impounded and its captain detained. PLN will seek Rp 150 billion in compensation.
Damages include Rp 55 billion to pay BICC for repairing the cables, Rp 25 billion to reimburse PLN for its reserve cables used to replace the broken cables, and Rp 70 billion for PLN's outlay for the lease of the diesel power generators.
Kuntoro and Adhi earlier said PLN would relocate some units of its power plant in Gresik to Madura as a precaution against a similar incident in the future.
Hizban said PLN was pushing ahead and would install the 40-MW power units in September this year in Gilitimur village of Bangkalan district.
"We have appropriated land for the power plant. We did not face any difficulties in buying the land as the Madurese are very supportive of the plan to develop the power plant," Hizban said.
The government has instructed PLN to reduce by 50 percent its power bills for the island in April and free subscribers of charges next month as compensation for losses incurred from the outage. (jsk)