REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BENGKAYANG -- The national power utility PT PLN has to buy power from a Malaysia power producer to meet power requirement in Bengkawang.
PLN will purchase 90 MW from Serawak Energy Berhard (SEB) starting May 16, 2016, said Djoko R Abumanan, the PLN Kalimantan regional business director said here on Tuesday.
Djoko was in Bengkawang accompanied Malaysian Minister for Energy, Green Technology and Water Maximus Johnity Ongkili on a visit to the extra high voltage power relay station here.
He said PLN could buy power at a cheaper price from SEB that local oil fired power plants could be out of business as they are not competitive in price.
Additional supply from SEB would guarantee power supply during the forthcoming Idul Fitri, he said.
PLN and SEB began interconnection on January 20, 2016 with SEB supplying 50 MW of power to the West Kalimantan system. The supply was raised to 70MW on May 9 and to be increased again to 90MW on May 16.
In October 2016, the supply to the West Kalimantan system is expected to rise further to 230 MW after the completion of a number of units of infrastructure.
The power supply to the Indonesia-Malaysia interconnection is channeled through extra high voltage aerial cable of 275 kV between Bengkayang and SEB's power plant in Mambong.
Director General of Electric Energy Jarman said PLN purchases power from SEB at a price of Rp900 per kWh, and sells it at a price of Rp1,350 per kWh.
"There is a profit margin of Rp450 per kWh that could be used by PLN to build transmission cables, etc," he said.
The price is even much cheaper compared to Rp2,000 per kWh the price PLN paid so far from local oil-fired power plants.
Djoko said he hoped Malaysia investors would build power plants in West Kalimantan to open more jobs.
In 2013, PLN and SEB signed a power exchange agreement (PEA) for 25 years as from the start of the interconnection.
Under the PEA, in the first five years or until 2021, Indonesia would purchase 50 MW of power from Malaysia at normal condition and 230 MW at peak load.
After the five year period, PLN may sell power to Malaysia.
The West Kalimantan-Serawak interconnection is part of the ASEAN Power Grid that would make connection of power system between all 10-member countries of ASEAN.
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