DEN says 35,000 MW program must be realized by 2019
Monday, January 23 2017 - 10:28 AM WIB
Petromindo|Thomas
The National Energy Council (DEN) concluded during its 20th annual meeting on Monday that the government?s five-year program to develop a combined 35,000 MW power plants can?t be scaled down or delayed, thus must be realized by 2019 as targeted.
?The target set in RUEN (National Energy General Plan) must not be altered. The 35GW program must be completed on time,? DEN member Tumiran told a press conference following the meeting, which was led by DEN Executive Chairman Ignasius Jonan, who is also the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources.
The administration of President Joko Widodo has launched an ambitious program to develop a combined 35,000 MW power plants until 2019 in a bid to help meet electricity demand in the Southeast Asia?s largest economy. But as progress so far has been slow due to various reasons including lack of financing, bureaucratic hurdles, and difficulties in acquiring the required land, there has been suggestion including from certain senior government officials to cut down the 2019 ambitious target to around 25,000 MW.
Tumiran also said the target for renewables to account for 23 percent of the country?s energy mix by 2025 can?t be postponed. ?DEN has determined that the 23 percent target by 2025 must be achieved through various means,? he said.
He added that DEN has also decided to push for regional governments to develop the Regional Energy General Plan as a derivative of RUEN.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak