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PLN warns of gas deficit due to 35,000 MW project
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Several workers examine a gas pipeline during a regular check in a gas facility. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
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tate-owned electricity company PLN has warned of a future gas supply deficit for the country, in the wake of rapidly increasing demand for the commodity following the growing number of gas-based power plants to be built in the national 35,000 megawatt (MW) project.
PLN director Amin Subekti said gas-based power plants were set to contribute 25 percent of the total capacity produced. The only problem with the plan, he underlined, was the potential gas deficit in the following years ahead.
"[This year] Java and Bali will experience a gas deficit of 118 billion British thermal units per day (Bbtu/d) and will continue to increase until 2025," he said at the 40th Indonesian Petroleum Association (IPA) convention and exhibition in Jakarta on Thursday.
According to PLN data, the gas supply deficit is estimated to reach 281 Bbtu/d in 2017, and grow exponentially to 1,081 Bbtu/d in 2019. The deficit is then predicted to double and pass beyond 2,000 Bbtu/d in 2026, or ten years from now.
Amid the alarming situation, gas will be one of main fuel sources for the national megaproject.
The Unit for Implementation of National Electricity Building Program (UP3KN) vice chairman Agung Wicaksono said gas-based power plants would be the savior of the project after PLN cancelled the tender of the 2,000 MW coal-fired power plant (PLTU) Jawa 5, in West Java.
"With the variety of obstacles in this project, especially after the canceled auction of a large-scale power plant by PLN, potential energy reserves in Java and Bali could fall below 30 percent. This gap can be filled only by boosting gas-based power plants," he said. (ags)
