Cirata hydro power plant almost stops operation

Cirata hydro power plant in West Java will no doubt stop functioning if the water level of nearby dam falls to 205 meters from the current 208.8 meters, an official of state utility company PLN said Thursday as reported by Detik.Com news website.

?At 205 meters, Cirata plant will stop operation,? said PLN?s transmission and distribution director Herman Darnel during his visit to Cirata.

The power plant can generate up to 700 megawatts (MW) of electricity if water supply from the Cirata dam is at its normal level.

Severe drought had caused Cirata dam?s water level to drastically drop to 208.8 meters.

The Cirata power project currently turns out only 350 MW of electricity due to the fall in water supply from the reservoir, Detick.Com said.

Cirata is among the 10 hydro power plants in operation on Java Island. PLN operates all of them.

Together, the 10 projects supply around 2,500 MW of electricity to customers through the Java-Bali grid. (*)