Coal supply to Suralaya power plant declines by 1 million tons

South Sumatra-based coal producer PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PT BA) has admitted that the company?s coal supply to the Suralaya power plant in Merak, West Java has declined by one million tons a year due to transportation problem, Bisnis Indonesia daily reported on Wednesday.

"The transportation problem from Tanjung Enim to coal terminal in Panjang, Bandar Lampung remains the core problem in the coal supply to the Suralaya power plant," PT BA?s president director Ismet Harmaini said.

He said that railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia which transports the coal promised in a recent meeting to increase the coal train capacity so that all of the coal requirement from the Suralaya power plant could be met.

According to him, PT BA is able only to supply 6.8 million tons of the 7.8 million tons of coal requested by the Suralaya power plant, one of major power plants operated by PLN?s subsidiary PT Indonesia Power.

The Suralaya power plant operates six power generator units. Powe plants I to IV has a generating capacity of 400 MW each while the power units V and VI has a capacity of 600 MW each. The decline in the coal supply could further worsen the power supply which has started to hit some parts of Java.

The Suralaya power plant needs at least 11 million tons of coal. Of the total, between 6 million to 7 million tons are supplied by PT BA, while the remaining 5 million to 6 million tons are procured from the spot market. (*)