Four diesel generators in Balikpapan gutted by fire
Thursday, May 22 2008 - 02:56 AM WIB
Four of diesel power generators operated by state-owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan were gutted by a fire in wee hours on Wednesday, causing a major power shortage in the area, Kompas reported on Thursday.
The newspaper reported that the four generators at PLN's diesel power plant in Batakan, Balikpapan were seriously damaged by the fire, causing a loss of power supply of 7 megawatt.
Head of PLN's local branch Ahmad Siang said that the other 40 generators in the Batakan power plant were not affected by the fire. But the incident has caused damages in the four generators further worsened supplies for the province's main towns of Balikpapan, Samarinda and Tangarong. The power shortage in the province has risen to 27 MW as a result of the incident.
Ahmad said that prior to the incident, the total power supply in the province reached 160 MW, or about 20 MW below the demand which reached 180 MW. (*)