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PLN completes Sulawesi power grid, saving Rp 44 billion a month
The new transmission network connects all power grids in the provinces of Central, South, West and Southeast Sulawesi.
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Workers conduct regular maintenance on a section of the Java-Bali extra high-voltage power line in Suralaya, Cilegon Banten. State-owned electricity company PLN has completed the construction of a power transmission network connecting the provinces of Central, South, West and Southeast Sulawesi. (Antara/Asep Fathulrahman)
S
tate-owned utility company PLN has completed the construction of an extra high-voltage power transmission network connecting electricity grids in the provinces of Central, South, West and Southeast Sulawesi, a project the company expects will save millions of dollars and facilitate higher electricity consumption, particularly in the latter province.
The 3,767-circuit kilometers power transmission network, with 5,687 transmission towers and 47 substations with a capacity of 2,648 mega volt amps (MVA) is the first stage of PLN’s extra-high voltage project in Sulawesi, dubbed the Sulawesi electricity transmission toll project.
PLN said in a statement on Thursday that the operation of the interprovince power grid could save the company Rp 44 billion (US$3.11 million) in operation costs each month from deactivating at least four diesel-fired power generators in the Kolaka, Lasusua, Lambuya and Wua-Wua areas.
“PLN can reduce fuel consumption by 22,615 liters per day, or around 678,450 liters per month and thus reduce production costs,” said PLN Sulawesi general manager Suroso Isnandar.
He said electricity production costs in the four provinces now stood at Rp 1,096 per kilowatt hours (KWh), down 7.7 percent from the prior cost in the southern Sulawesi region.
The electricity production costs in the region are now closer to that of mainland Bali and Java, where costs are less than the maximum Rp 989 per KWh as set under Ministerial Decree No. 55/2019 on electricity supply costs for PLN.
Reducing production costs is also necessary for PLN to maintain its profit margin, having recorded a net loss of Rp 5.34 trillion last year. The company booked net profits of Rp 7.35 trillion (US$521.53 million) in the first half of this year thanks to a large compensation payment from the government and the large amount of foreign exchange gains received by the company during the six-month period.
