Save energy or face blackout, you decide

Save energy or face blackout, you decide

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

A boring night in the darkness as electricity is unceremoniously
cut can turn into a romantic candlelit evening, or a festive
event with a family sing-along and guitar jam session like the
days before the children were glued to computers and DVDs.

It can also be frustrating, like for the young girl who turns
her book to the side, trying to get the candlelight to fall on
the book so she can study for an exam the next day.

For one night, it is acceptable. A blackout, for two hours on
one night, can at best be enjoyable and at worst simply annoying.

Unfortunately, the blackouts -- or at least power cuts -- have
become more and more frequent.

State power firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) called on
customers early in June in Java and Bali to turn off two lights
per house as the gasoline supply to several plants was cut for
two weeks. It announced a possible power shortage on June 20, as
a 750-megawatt (MW) plant had to stop generating power due to
late delivery of petroleum fuel.

A 600 MW unit of Suralaya power plant in West Java halted its
operation on Aug. 11 to repair the boiler, causing an expected
250-MW power shortage. The massive blackout started last Thursday
with two units of the Suralaya plant shutting down.

PLN again made the announcement on Monday of a possible 655 MW
shortage as two units with a combined capacity of 1,015 MW in
Suralaya plant and Paiton plant in East Java had to be shut down
for repairs. However, the public's energy-saving measure helped
reduce demand during peak hours, therefore PLN did not have to go
ahead with its earlier plan of a power cut.

"(Still), the vulnerability of power supply will continue
until December at the very least," general manager of the Java-
Bali grid's center for power distribution Muljo Adji said on
Monday.

The core of the problem is simple: lack of additional power to
ensure the security of supply, even as the existing plants are
wearing out over time.

The usable capacity in the Java-Bali grid hovers at around
15,500 MW from an installed capacity of 19,615 MW. Lack of
investment has stalled the development of new power plants as
power demand has risen by some 6 percent annually.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono instructed PLN on Monday to
speed up the development of three planned power plants.

Coal-fired Tanjung Jati B plant, with a capacity of 1,320 MW,
and Cilacap plant (600 MW), both in Central Java, should start
operation by the end of the year. PLN must also accelerate the
construction of the Cilegon power plant (740 MW) in West Java by
five months to be completed in February next year.

In the mean time, however, the power crisis -- what could such
a situation be called other than a crisis? -- is getting worse.

PLN warned of reserves of only 120 MW in October as hydropower
capacities reduce by half due to declining water levels. This
means that a disruption of any kind in power plants would cause
some customers to live in the dark.

"We again appeal the customers to save energy," said Muljo.

Turning off two lights in each house of half the customers
will save 500 MW of power in the Java-Bali grid, he said.

One may argue that it should be the responsibility of the
government, cq. PLN, to provide the power needs.

Nevertheless, it is apparent that, for now, customers have the
power to save themselves from the inconvenience of blackouts --
before romance wears off, work does not get done and students
have to get prescription glasses to aid their sight.