Rp 13b cloud-seeding project fails to produce rain in West Sumatra
Rp 13b cloud-seeding project fails to produce rain in West Sumatra
Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post/Padang
A cloud-seeding project worth billions of rupiah has failed to
produce results, prompting state electricity company PT PLN to
abandon it, an official said on Friday.
"The project has been stopped as it has failed to produce rain
in three weeks, and has already cost us a lot of money," said
Yusman Radjo Mudo, a spokesman for PLN's West Sumatra office.
The Rp 13 billion (US$1.4 million) project started in June. It
was initiated by the company as a power crisis continued to
plague West Sumatra, Riau and Jambi.
Long power cuts in the provinces were frequent in June and
July, after water levels in the provinces' reservoirs, which are
used by hydropower stations to generate electricity, dropped in
the dry season. Using a rotation system, PLN offices cut power to
the provinces for between three and six hours a day; sometimes
for between six and 10 hours a day.
To overcome the problem, the electricity company in
cooperation with the Agency for the Assessment and the
Application of Technology initiated a cloud-seeding project over
the Singkarak and Maninjau lakes that feed the Singkarak and
Maninjau power stations.
With the failure of the project, the water level of the two
lakes has continued to drop, raising fears the electricity crisis
would worsen.
However, despite the project's failure, the company had
successfully eased the electricity supply problem, Yusman said.
PLN requested help from its South Sumatra office, which
through an interconnection system transferred power to the three
provinces, amounting to from 100 to 120 Megawatts in daylight
hours, he said.
Yusman said the additional power meant there were not massive
shutdowns in the three provinces. Now PLN only shut off power in
the provinces for two hours each night, between 12 a.m and 2 a.m.
Yusman hoped rain would fall soon over the two lakes so
turbines in the stations, which have been idle since June, could
start generating power again.
Governments in the three provinces have also begun efforts to
overcome the reoccurring electricity problem. On Friday last
week, Riau Governor Rusli Zainal met top PLN executives in
Jakarta to discuss ways of ending the province's electricity
crisis.
During the meeting, PT PLN president director Eddy Widiono
told Rusli the company would help the administration find
investors to fund the construction of the Teluk Lembu gas power
plant, which would boost the province's supply.
PLN also promised to buy electricity from the plant.