Independent power producer PT Cikarang Listrindo is gearing up for the completion of its coal-fired power plant in Babelan, West Java, in anticipation of continued growth in electricity demand from industrial customers.

The power plant — which will provide an additional 280 megawatts to the company’s total installed capacity — is expected to be fully operational in the second half of this year.

“Our plan was to operate it in January, but the construction was delayed, because there were problems with two of the 101 towers,” Cikarang Listrindo investor relations head Baskara Rosadi Van Roo told The Jakarta Post recently.

Once the new plant is fully operational, the publicly-listed firm will have a total installed capacity of 1,144 MW from three power plants. It now operates two gas-fired power plants.

The company currently supplies electricity to customers in five major industrial areas of West Java’s Jababeka industrial estate, namely Lippo Cikarang, Hyundai, East Jakarta Industrial Park (EJIP) and MM-2100 Industrial Town.

Small and medium-sized foreign companies make up 73 percent of its customers, while the remaining 27 percent are local companies. Its customer base has grown continually and reached 2,252 customers by the end of last year.

Cikarang Listrindo said demand for electricity in the industrial estate was growing steadily from year to year, although the growth rate did not reach “double digits.”

“Historically, the demand in the industrial state grew by 6 percent annually; the growth is usually aligned with economic growth,” he explained.

In 2016, the electricity sales volume reached 2,918 Gigawatt hours (GWh), up by 5.2 percent from the previous year. Based on the company’s experience, electricity demand in the five industrial areas increases by 60 MW annually, the company’s investor relation team member Nesni Sutry said.

The firm says it will base decisions on further investment in plants on its demand projection. Its 2 x 140 MW coal power plant in Babelan, for example, could be expanded to a capacity of 5 x 140 MW, the company said.

Aside from supplying electricity to the industrial estate, 30 percent of the firm’s revenue comes from electricity sales to state-owned power company PLN.

This year, Cikarang Listrindo plans between US$40 million and $45 million in capital expenditure for the construction of its coal power plant. It has also allocated $15 million for regular facilities maintenance.

In the first quarter, Cikarang Listrindo’s revenue increased to $139 million from $135 million a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the company’s net profit dropped to $27 million in the first three months of this year, down from $84 million in the first quarter of last year.

As of May, 30.9 percent of the company’s shares are controlled by PT Udinda Wahanatama — the company that also controls the Hoka-Hoka Bento restaurant chain in Indonesia; 27 percent by PT Brasali Industri Pratama, 27 percent by PT Pentakencana Pakarperdana and 14.9 percent by the public.

In 2016, Cikarang Listrindo raised Rp 2.4 trillion from its initial public offering, making it the first private power company to list on the IDX.

It has disbursed 30 percent of the funds from the IPO as working capital, leaving 70 percent for developing its business in the future.

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