P

ower company PT Indonesia Power (IP) and PT Pertamina Gas (Pertagas) will construct gas infrastructure worth US$250 million in Bali to help generate power more efficiently.

IP general manager for Bali Antonius R.T. Artono said the infrastructure comprised gas vessels, a pipeline network from the Granti power plant in East Java to Pessanggaran and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal, all of which would be built in Pesanggaran near Benoa harbor. The facilities are scheduled to be ready in 2013.

“We haven’t decided the capacity of the re-gasification plant because in the first three years, Bali will need around 20 million standard cubic feet per day [mmscfd], but after the completion of two electrical towers connecting Banyuwangi [East Java] and Gilimanuk [Bali], the need will decline to only 8 mmscfd,” he said on Tuesday.

The towers will be the world’s highest electrical towers, standing 376 meters tall, higher than Jungrin Yangtze in China, which is 346.3 meters.

The towers, projected to be operational in 2013, will channel electricity produced by power plants in Java to Bali and are expected to keep power prices low.

All power plants in Bali still use oil-based fuel for generating electricity.

“With the utilization of gas in Bali, we can save up to 250,000 kiloliters of oil-based fuels per year in the first three years,” said Antonius.

Electricity produced from oil-based fuel is more expensive than that generated by gas.

When the electrical towers have been completed, the gas that was previously allocated for Bali will be shifted to the eastern part of Indonesia.

Antonius said IP and Pertagas were discussing the ownership of the infrastructure and funding sources for the project. The two companies will also set up a joint venture company to operate the infrastructure.

Pertagas corporate secretary Eko Agus Sardjono said the LNG for Pesanggaran might be delivered from Bontang, East Kalimantan.

“The amount of gas may be 8.5 mmscfd and will be supplied from Bontang,” he said.

According to IP, Bali’s primary electricity infrastructure has a total capacity of 493 megawatts (MW), lower than the 579 MW during peak hours, causing frequent power outages on the island.

With the additional supply from Java, that capacity is expected to increase to 680 MW.

Besides the towers, IP has also started construction on a 5-kilometer-long undersea electrical cable that would connect Java and Bali. The cable is projected to be ready in August next year.

Japan-based firm Sumitomo would be the contractor for the project with the funds coming from Japan, Antonius said.

As much as 47 percent of electricity in Bali this year was consumed by the commercial sector including hotels and businesses, 43 percent by households, 6 percent by the public sector and 4 percent by industry.

IP, which handles all the electricity generation in Bali, has also launched several other strategies to boost efficiency, including procuring a new power plant with a total capacity of 125 MW, which uses both diesel fuel and natural gas.