PLN says power grid ready for big UN conference

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 10/31/2007 4:46 PM | National

Wasti Atmodjo and Prodita Sabarini, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

The Bali office of state power firm PLN has guaranteed the island will have an adequate power supply for the UN climate change conference in Nusa Dua in December, despite current shortages.

Ongoing repair work at the Gilimanuk power plant has resulted in the loss of 130 megawatts from the Bali power grid.

With the loss of power from the Gilimanuk plant, the Bali power grid can only generate 430 megawatts of electricity, short of the estimated peak-time consumption of 439 megawatts.

PLN Bali spokesman Wayan Redika said Tuesday the repairs on the plant began Sept. 2 and would be completed by Nov. 17.

""The repairs will be completed before the conference starts, so we will be ready to power the event,"" Redika said.

Bali will host 10,000 delegates from 191 nations during the global meeting in Nusa Dua, which is expected to begin talks on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.

""The government has yet to give an estimate of how much energy Bali will need for the conference. However, we have and are currently making extra preparations to guarantee the delegates experience a comfortable stay here,"" Redika said.

""Our own estimate places the peak-time consumption for the end of the year at between 445 and 450 megawatts. We are ready for that as long as it does not exceed 570 megawatts.""

PLN Bali has purchased an uninterruptible power supply unit for the event that can hold up to five megawatts of power. The UPS unit cost around Rp 1 billion.

The company also has repaired the electricity installation network and prepared diesel generators with up to 10 megawatts of total power, or the equivalent of the amount of power used by Ngurah Rai airport.

""For the UN climate change conference there will be no problems. The lights wont even flicker,"" Redika said.

PLN Bali also has prepared energy saving lights that will be used in Kuta and Nusa Dua.

Most of Bali's electricity supply is absorbed by hotels -- especially in Badung regency and Denpasar city. Hotels use up to 70 percent of the island's total power supply.

""Out of that 70 percent, some 35 percent is utilized to power hotels in the Nusa Dua area,"" Redika said.

Bali is unable to generate enough electricity to meet demand on the island. Forty percent of its total electricity supply comes from plants in Java. The electricity is sent through three gigantic underwater cables across the Bali Strait.

Redika said PLN Bali was developing more environmentally friendly energy sources.

On Nusa Penida island, Klungkung regency, the company built two 80-kilowatt wind-powered electricity plants in 2005 to power the three neighboring tourist islands of Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan.

Redika said delegates from the UN climate change conference would visit the plants.

""The plants are a model of an environmentally friendly energy source,"" he said.

The plants need winds at a minimum speed of six meters per second to operate.

""Up to now the power plants have generated 16 million kilowatts of electricity since they started operating in 2005. We also have saved up to Rp 200 million in fossil fuels.""

Redika said seven more wind-powered plants were planned for Bali, with funding from the state budget and PLN budget.

Redika said Karangasem regency would also build its own wind-powered plants in Sraya.

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