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tate-owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) has just completed the construction of its new coal-fired plant in Langkat Regency, North Sumatra, to help overcome electricity shortage in the province, the company'€™s executive has said.

Legal and public relations manager of PLN in North Sumatra, Raidir Sigalingging, said in Medan on Wednesday that the construction of the 400-megawatt (MW) plant called PLTU Pangkalan Susu had concluded last month.

However, the electricity from the power plant could not be distributed to consumers yet because the construction of the facilities connecting the power plant and the province'€™s electric grid had not been completed.

Raidir said that grid facilities construction was behind schedule due to a land procurement problem with local residents.

He explained that a group of Langkat locals had previously refused to give up their land for the company to build extra high-voltage power lines.

'€œPLN wanted to purchase the land according to official land prices, but local residents wanted more. Fortunately, the local government solved the problem so we can start building PLTU Pangkalan Susu'€™s transmission network and can distribute electricity to consumers in the near future,'€ Raidir said.

Raidir was previously quoted as saying that the plant would commence operations by April this year.

The construction of PLTU Pangkalan Susu was carried out by a China-based consortium, Guangdong Power Engineering Corporation. The project costs about Rp 4 trillion (US$329 million) in total investment.

Earlier, North Sumatra Deputy Governor T. Erry Nuradi called on people in the area to stop impeding the construction of PLTU Pangkalan Susu'€™s network.

Erry said that if obstruction continued, the local government would bring the case to the local court, which would then decide the price of the land.

According to the newly implemented Law on Land Acquisition, investors can bring the case to an arbiter to determine land prices if negotiations failed to resolve the people'€™s objection.

'€œWe want PLTU Pangkalan Susu to operate soon to help fulfill electricity needs,'€ he said.

Raidir said that since 2007, North Sumatra has suffered a serious power crisis that has led to frequent blackouts.

He explained that the province was currently looking for solution to overcome its 200-MW electricity deficit, as it would need energy reserves of at least 30 percent of the total peak demand of 1,700 MW.

'€œThe province'€™s electricity situation will improve once the Pangkalan Susu power plant starts operating,'€ he said, while emphasizing that the new power plant would not immediately solve any deficit potential, as there were increasing demands every year.