Energy Minister inaugurates Paiton III
Tuesday, June 5 2012 - 07:55 AM WIB
The ministry of energy and mineral resources said in a press statement on Tuesday that the operation of Paiton III was part of the efforts to increase the power supply through the Java-Bali grid and to diversify primary energy source away from the expensive petroleum-based fuel to cheaper non-petroleum-based energy sources.
The Paiton III was developed by PT Paiton Energy under an independent power producer scheme agreed with the state utility PT PLN at a total investment of US$ 1.5 billion. It uses more efficient technology if compared with the conventional PLTU.
It was initially planned to start its operation on April 22 this year, but apparently it could be realized one month earlier on March 18. With the operation of Paiton III using coal rather fuel oil, then PLN can save up to Rp 1.1 trillion from its primary energy cost.
The operation of Paiton III will also make PT Paiton Energy as the largest operator of power plants in Paiton area, which has now a total generation capacity of 2,035 MW or 7 percent of the total supply from all power plants in Java and Bali.
The government hopes that Paiton III will stand as a model for operators of other power plants across Indonesia in terms of its large capacity and energy efficiency, which will in turn push down the amount of subsidy fund allocated for electricity.
The operation of Paiton III increases power supply to the Java-Bali grid up to about 29,231 MW.
Editing by Benget Besalicto Tnb.