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PLN puts 22,000 MW power plant projects on hold
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Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
S
tate electricity company PLN has officially slashed the allocation for new power plants in its new 10-year business plan by around 22,000 megawatts (MW) to only 56,000 MW due to sluggish electricity demand throughout last year.
In its previous electricity procurement business plan (RUPTL) for the 2017-2026 period, PLN envisioned the development of new power plants with a combined capacity of around 77,900 MW based on the assumption that its electricity sales would grow 8.3 percent annually.
In fact, PLN’s electricity sales only increased by 3.57 percent last year, raising concerns over the possibility of an oversupply situation.
Therefore, the company has scrapped the allocation for new plants to only around 56,000 MW in its new RUPTL for the 2018-2027 period based on the assumption that electricity demand will grow 6.86 percent annually in the next decade.
“The slashed allocation [of around 22,000 MW] is put in a potential list and can only be developed if we already have the demand,” Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan told reporters on Tuesday evening.
In the new business plan, PLN scraps the allocation for coal-fired facilities by around 5,000 MW, gas-fueled and combined-cycle plants by 10,000 MW and renewable projects by 6,600 MW.
“If electricity demand suddenly increases later, it’s possible for us to revise the business plan once again,” PLN corporate planning director Syofvi Felienty Roekman said.
Syofvi said only around 20,000 MW worth of power plants included in the government’s 35,000 MW program would be operational by 2019. (bbn)
