Cirebon Electric Power to build 1,000 MW coal-fired power plant

PT Cirebon Electric Power plans to develop its second coal-fired power plant in Cirebon, West Java, with a capacity of 1,000 MW and total investment of about US$2 billion, reports said Friday.

Construction of the second unit, to be located near the first unit of 660 MW, is expected to begin in the middle of 2014, in the hope that operation could start in 2018.

Company Vice President Eddy Junaedy said that the company has already concluded technical related talks with state-owned power firm PLN, and is currently discussing the sales and purchase agreement, hoping that it could be finalized by the end of January 2014. Funding from Japanese and South Korean banks is expected to be wrapped up in the middle of 2014, after which construction process will begin.

Eddy said that the second unit will use a better supercritical technology, which means that the electricity selling price should be higher than the 4.34 US cents per Kwh for the first unit. He said that under the current coal price level, the power price should be set at around 5.7 US cents per Kwh.

He added that the Japanese and South Korean banks are hoping the government to provide guarantee for the project.

Meanwhile, Eddy was quoted by Bisnis Indonesia daily as saying that his company plans to develop the third and fourth unit, respectively with a capacity of 660 MW and 1,000 MW, in the future. (*)