TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Rolling blackouts continue in West Nusa Tenggara
State electricity company PT PLN's West Nusa Tenggara office has continued applying rolling blackouts of around four hours a day across the province, due to a deficit in supply that hit the region four months ago
Change Size
State electricity company PT PLN's West Nusa Tenggara office has continued applying rolling blackouts of around four hours a day across the province, due to a deficit in supply that hit the region four months ago.
The office's deputy communication manager Lalu Mawardi said Friday there was no certainty when the blackouts could be put to an end, as there was also uncertainty about when the electricity crisis would end.
"Our maximum capacity is no longer sufficient to cover the peak load at night. Blackouts are unavoidable, especially for Lombok Island, where the daily power deficit is between 7 and 8 megawatts *MW*," Lalu said.
Lalu said that to cope with the problem, his office would build steam-powered electric generators (PLTU) of 3x25 MW capacity in Jeranjang, West Lombok. One will be financed through the state budget, while the other two are being paid for by the company's central office through its national electricity acceleration program.
But he added that 12 hectares of the 35-hectare site needed for the development project had not been freed up, because the owners were reluctant to sell their land.
"We hope we will be able to finish the land acquisition in April, so we can start the project soon, otherwise the electricity crisis here will never be solved," he said, adding the project was the only hope for solving the province's power problems.
