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PLN urges residents to conserve electricity amid supply deficit
In anticipation of a possible surge in use at the end of this year, state-owned electricity company PT PLN's Bali office is urging individuals and businesses to conserve electricity to help cope with a lack of power plants
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In anticipation of a possible surge in use at the end of this year, state-owned electricity company PT PLN's Bali office is urging individuals and businesses to conserve electricity to help cope with a lack of power plants.
Sudirman, general manager of PLNs Bali office, said the company would stay "on guard" as the year draws to an end, a time that commonly sees a major influx of tourists and with them, a surge in electricity consumption.
He said the conditions of power plants in Bali were stable and that the company would be able to deliver power to the island, but he warned of concerns over a lack of reserve power.
He predicted a maximum output of 460 Megawatts (MW) by this year's end, an amount the company could handle. Yet, he said, it would lower power reserves on the island to 102 MW.
"This will put us in a tight situation," Sudirman said, adding that 130 MW is considered a safe level of reserves.
Bali's PLN plants produce up to 562 MW daily, serving up to 740,000 consumers across the island.
He said the company had been campaigning for further electricity conservation, but many households and government buildings with outdated power-consuming technologies continued to hamper efforts.
"We have set a target of a 20 percent reduction in electricity use by doing things like turning streetlights off earlier and on later and urging people to turn their lights off during the daytime," he said.
"But right now, we have only managed to reduce around 10 percent of our total electricity consumption."
Should all conservation efforts fail, Sudirman warned, Bali may experience a power availability crisis by mid-2009.
"So it's highly important that every one of us conserve electricity use, especially in the next couple of months," he said.
Communications manager of Bali's PLN office, I Made Berata, said the company has planned three new power plants to meet the demand.
The new power plants, which will have a total output of about 380 MW, will be in operation by 2010.
Berata added that the Bali Crossing project, which is a 4-kilometer power distribution line between Banyuwangi port in East Java and Gilimanuk port in Bali were slated to finish by 2012.
He said the project could deliver high amounts of electricity from power plants in Java. "Once it is finished, we should be in the clear for the next 30 years," he said.
In anticipation of the coming campaign months, Berata also urged households and campaigners to hoist political party flags as far away from power lines as possible.
