East Kalimantan?s regency to operate own Genset

Penajam Paser Utara, one of new regencies in East Kalimantan, plans to buy an electricity generator set to cope with the electricity shortage in the area. The Genset will be bought from the provincial office of state owned electricity company PLN, Kaltim Pos reported on Monday.

The regency?s regent H. Yusran said that the purchase of the Genset which will have a capacity of between one and two MW had received approval from local legislators. "There is no problem with the funding because the regency will pay the Genset in installments," he added.

At present the regency relies on PLN supply to meet its electricity demand but the supply cannot meet the demand although the company has operated 13 units of diesel power plants. "Most of the power plants have been too old to operate and some of them often fail to operate," he said.

In long-term the regency would build its own power plant, which will have a generating capacity of about 5 MW. Unocal Indonesia, which operates gas fields in the regency, has agreed to supply the gas for the plant. (*)