Bali may suffer severe shortage of power supply in 2003

If the capacity of the existing power plants is not increased, Bali will suffer a severe shortage of electricity supply by 2003. It means that some parts of Bali will suffer a blackout if one of the power plants fail to operate, Kompas reported on Thursday.

According to Ngurah Adnyana, the general manager of PLN?s business unit for Bali, East, and West Nusa Tenggara, said that at present the power supply is only about 450 MW, while the demand reaches 330 MW during peak hours at night.

He said that with the average growth of 14.5 percent a year, the demand for the electricity on the island might exceed the supply within the next two years or by 2003.

?If there is a problem with one of the existing power generating units, some parts of Bali will suffer blackout,? he said in a seminar on the future of the electricity in Bali.

Ngurah said that the future of the electricity on the island relies on the participation of private companies because PLN will have no funds to build a new power plant. (*)