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Karimunjawa residents now can enjoy better electricity access
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The beauty of nature -- A tourist enjoys the beautiful coral reefs in the waters of the Karimunjawa Islands in Central Java by snorkelling. Karimunjawa residents now have a 24-hour electricity supply after the launch of two new diesel-fueled power plants on Monday. (Tempo/-)
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esidents of the Karimunjawa Islands in Jepara regency, Central Java, now have reliable access to electricity following the official launch of two diesel-fueled power plants (PLTD) with a capacity of 2,2 megawatts (MW) each on Monday.
"We are thankful because Karimunjawa residents can finally enjoy a 24-hour electricity connection," the Jepara administration’s regional secretary, Sholih, said as quoted by Antara new agency on Monday.
He further said the reliable electricity source would hopefully revive the Karimunjawa economy as its residents had all desired better access to the utility.
The state electricity company PLN’s general manager for Central Java and Yogyakarta distribution, Dwi Kusnanto, said the two new PLTDs would replace the old power plants, which had a capacity of only between 100 to 500 kilovolt-amps, located in Karimunjawa, Kemujan, Nyamplungan and Tlaga.
Dwi said the new power plants could fulfill the electricity needs of over 3,000 households. At the moment, he said, Karimunjawa only had 2,800, hence, only 86 percent of total capacity was being utilized.
The power plants, located in Dukuh Legon Bajar, are connected by a transmission network that was built in 2014, stretching across a 45,6-kilometer area.
Speaking prior to the official launch, Dwi said the company had tested both units for five days without experiencing disruptions, confirming the readiness of both facilities for operation.
"We hope residents can maintain the installation and transmission network because there are still some system limitations, hence the distribution process may not be as good as on land," he said.
Dwi further explained electricity produced from the power plants would be directly connected to users. This was why any short circuiting would shut down the entire network.
For this reason, Dwi urged all Karimunjawa residents to actively maintain the system by, among others things, trimming tree branches that are too close to transmission cables.
He further said PLN continued to cooperate with electricity manufacturer PT Indonesia Power in their efforts to build an oil and gas-fueled power plant (PLTMG) in Karimunjawa.
The construction project of the PLTMG Karimunjawa, which has a capacity of 3 x 1 MW, is currently in a tender process.
"The gas supply transporter by Indonesia Power is also still in the preparation stages of construction," Dwi said.
Additionally, Karimunjawa’s three islands, Genting, Nyamuk and Parang, will receive assistance for the construction of solar power facilities (PLTS) provided by Denmark to increase the region’s electricity capacity. (ebf)
