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Government upbeat about adequate electricity supply in Riau
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Power source: Visitors gather in front of the Tenayan coal-fired power plant (PLTU) in Tenayan Raya district, Pekanbaru, Riau. Three years after construction began, the facility is set to commence operations in December with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo scheduled to attend the firing-up ceremony. (JP/Rizal Harahap)
T
he government is upbeat it can keep pace with the continuously increasing demand for electricity in Riau with the operation of a new coal-fired power plant (PLTU) in the provincial capital of Pekanbaru.
Speaking on the sidelines of a visit to the Tenayan PLTU on Sunday, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan said the operation of the 2 x 100 megawatt (MW) power plant, whose development was 95 percent complete as of November, would help increase the electricity supply in the country’s largest oil-producing region.
“The full operation of the Tenayan PLTU would generate an additional 220 MW of electricity [for Riau]. This is one of the government’s efforts to fulfil the electricity demand in Riau,” Jonan said in a press release.
(Read also: New Pekanbaru power plant to start working in December)
State electricity company PLN's business director for Sumatra, Amir Rosidi, said electricity demand in Riau currently stood at 570 MW and would increase by approximately 9 percent annually.
“The additional electricity supply from the operation of the Tenayan PLTU and the Balai Pungut steam and gas-driven power plant [in Bengkalis regency] has increased the total supply in Riau to 662 MW. With the full operation of Tenayan PLTU, we will have a 772-MW supply of electricity by February,” he said. (hwa)
