Coal stock at Suralaya power plant drops to critical level

Coal stock at the Suralaya power plant complex in Banten has dropped to a critical level due to the lack of supply from PT Bukit Asam (PTBA).

?We now only have 250 tons of coal in stock, which is enough for only one week?s operation,? Firdaus Akmal, the president of PT Indonesia Power, which owns the power plant complex, said on Friday. The firm is a subsidiary of state-owned utility PT PLN.

The coal-fired Suralaya power plants play a pivotal role in the Java-Bali power grid given its huge capacity. The complex, the largest in Java, has seven power plants with a combined capacity of 3,400 megawatt (MW).

PTBA, a publicly listed state owned company, is the sole supplier of coal to the power complex. The company transports its coal from its coalmine in South Sumatra to Tarahan port in Lampung by train, from which the coal is then shipped to Suralaya. However, PTBA has been experiencing difficulties in transporting the coal following a derailment accident on the South Sumatra-Tarahan railway in December last year.

Repair works on the railway have been started, but PTBA is still unable to use it transport its coal at full capacity.

?PTBA has promised that coal supply will turn normal on Jan. 23. We hope it will come true,? Firdaus said.

Firdaus said Suralaya?s maintenance program, which required Indonesia Power to shut down one of the seven power plants for routine overhaul this month, has ease worries over the declining coal stock a bit. If all the power plants were in operation this month, the current coal stock would only last for days, rather than a week. (Alex)