Chairul Tanjung kicks off Sumatra power line projects

Coordinating Minister of the Economy Chairul Tanjung, who is also interim Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, kicked off on Friday the development of high-voltage power transmission lines in central Sumatra and interconnection power lines linking Sumatra to Java.

Both projects hold great importance as they will strengthen power supplies on both islands, the minister said during the ceremony to kick off the projects in Medan.

The central Sumatra power line will form part of the Sumatra power grid which state owned electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) has planned to build. Meanwhile, the Sumatra-Java interconnection line will allow power plants in Sumatra to supply power to Java.

At present, Sumatra has several power systems, which are not connected each other, A result, power plants in South Sumatra, for instance, cannot supply power to the neighboring provinces of Jambi and Riau. And the power plant in Jambi can?t supply power to Riau.

The 500 kV central Sumatra power line project will stretch 360 circuit kilometers from Aur Duri in Jambi to Garuda Sakti in Riau, according to PLN.

The Aur Duri-Garuda Sakti power line will be built in five sections:
? New Aur Duri ? Border (Jambi-Riau) (Lot-1)
? New AurDuri ? Border (Jambi?Riau) (Lot-2)
? (Jambi?Riau) border ? Rengat
? Rengat ? New Garuda Sakti (Lot-1)
? Ruas Rengat ? New Garuda Sakti (Lot-2)

The central Sumatra power system will get power supplies from several power plants now under construction, namely PLTU Jambi (2 x 400 MW), PLTU Sumsel 6 (2 x 300 MW) and PLTU Sumsel 7 (2 x 150 MW).

PLN plans to extend the power line from Aur Duri to Muara Enim, in South Sumatra in 2016, which will make the central Sumatra power line connected with the South Sumatra power system which covers the provinces of South Sumatra, Lampung and Bengkulu. It will be followed with the construction of power line connecting Garuda Sakti with Medan, which will make it connected with the North Sumatra power system which covers North Sumatra and Aceh . Once all these projects are finished in 2020, Sumatra will have a single power grid stretching Aceh to Lampung.

With regards the Sumatra-Java interconnection line, the line will use High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technology.

The Sumatra-Java interconnection will supply power from three Independent Power Producer (IPP) coal fired power plants with a combined capacity of 3000 MW, namely PLTU Sumsel 8,9 and 10. The HVDC transmission line will have a lenght of 742 km, consisting of 464 km of Direct Current (HD) transmission line and 278 km of Alternating Current (AC) transmission line. It will pass four provinces, namely South Sumatra, Lampung, Banten and West Java. The project needs 300 hectares of lands. A 40-km length of the power line will be installed underwater in Sunda Strait.

The transmission line will supply power from South Sumatra which is rich with coal to energy-hungry industries in Java.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon