Four PLN coal-fired power plants to begin full operation soon

By Godang Sitompul

State-owned electricity company PLN will begin full operation of four coal-fired power plants in the second half of this year, company President Director Nur Pamudji said.

The four plants, with a combined capacity of 1,800 MW, include the 300 MW Pacitan plant, 300 MW Pelabuhan Ratu plant, 600 MW Cirebon plant, and 600 MW Paiton FTP plant.

?The total (capacity) of four additional power plants is 1,800 MW,? said Pamudji on Tuesday.

He added that the operation of the four additional coal-fired power plants will help reduce PLN?s consumption of gas, hopeful that the company will be able to meet the 2012 targets in terms of coal and gas consumption.

In the second half of this year, coal is estimated to account for 60.8 percent of PLN?s total energy feedstock, or up from 52.5 percent last year. Meanwhile, the estimate for gas in the second half of this year is 24.6 percent.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak