Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
State-owned power firm PLN has warned that Jakarta will experience a power crisis by 2008 unless both the government and the public take preventative measures.
The company's general manager for power distribution in Jakarta and Tangerang, Fahmi Mochtar, said Wednesday the current supply of 4,200 megawatts would not be enough to meet future demand.
The annual electricity demand growth in Jakarta is 5 percent.
""If there is no additional electricity supply, nor rapid improvements to infrastructure, a power crisis will definitely hit Jakarta by 2008,"" Fahmi said.
He said individual efforts to save energy were important to lower demand.
PLN's Java, Madura and Bali plants currently meet less than half the city's demand of 4,500 MG, while diesel-based power plants in Tanjung Priok, Muara Tawar and Muara Karang supply the rest.
An electricity expert from the Bandung Institute of Technology, Agus Purwodi, said Jakarta needed at least 300 MW of extra supply every year.
""Jakarta is a service city. The impending power crisis threatens residents' economic well-being. Even a 30-minute blackout, for example, has a tremendous impact on the banking and telecommunications sectors.
""Jakarta needs to bring in an energy security system in order to prevent blackouts,"" Agus told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
He said such a system might include imposing higher power rates than in other provinces.
Agus said power firms needed to upgrade the already aging underground network, which was established in 1977.
The Jakarta administration earlier said it would build a gas-fired power plant on Damar islet in Kepulauan Seribu regency in 2009 to avoid the possibility of a power crisis.
The plant is expected to meet 10 percent of the city's demand of 4,500 MG.
Power blackouts are becoming more frequent in Jakarta and other provinces of Java, the country's most populous island, due to fuel shortages.
Last August, for example, a massive blackout hit Java and Bali when supply to the areas was disturbed due to a failure in the 500 kilovolt (kv) transmission line between Cilegon and Saguling.
The government has launched a ""crash program"", requiring a 10,000 MW electricity reserve, which is aimed at helping prevent power shortages and reducing the nation's dependency on oil-based fuels in the production of electricity.
PLN said it would soon announce the winners of tenders for two coal-fired power plants.
The two power plants, part of the 10,000 MW project, are the New Suralaya plant, which is located in Banten, and the New Paiton plant, located in East Java. The Paiton power plants will also be used to generate extra electricity for the reserve.
Each of the new plants will have a capacity of between 600 and 700 MW.
