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‘Blessing in disguise’: Electricity megaproject delay gives PLN breathing space
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo inaugurated the 35GW program in 2015 to support industrial growth.
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State-owned electricity company PLN workers wave from on top of a transmission tower. (PLN/PLN)
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arious in-the-field problems have delayed completion of Indonesia’s ambitious plan to create all 35 gigawatts (GW) of new power plants by 2025, giving the country’s largest electricity company more time to weather a power oversupply.
Updated Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry data announced on Wednesday show that only 94.8 percent of the expected power plants are to be completed by 2025. Completion of the remaining 5.2 percent, most of which are coal-fired power plants, is to be delayed by four years from the initial target because of land acquisition, permit and social resistance issues.
Despite the setbacks, the energy ministry’s electrification director general, Rida Mulyana, said the delay was “a blessing in disguise” because Indonesia’s electricity consumption had been falling behind the growth expectations imbued in the 35GW project.
“It’s fortunate the project is lagging behind. If not, things will be messed up,” he said.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo inaugurated the 35GW program in 2015 to support industrial growth. At that time, the country’s economic growth was expected to reach about 7 percent over the coming years. Instead, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) has been growing an average of 5 percent, leaving behind an electricity surplus.
Bearing the brunt of the program is state-owned electricity company PLN, which is tasked with contributing 8.8GW of power plants and offtaking power from the remaining 26.2GW. The company’s own plant projects include those that are operational (31 percent), under construction (51 percent) and still under planning (18 percent).
PLN's Sulawesi and Kalimantan regional director, Syamsul Huda, said on Thursday that finding new markets for the 20,168MW of under-construction plants, slated for completion in 2020 or 2021, was of particular concern for the company.
