Govt decides not to proceed with E. Java IPP geothermal tender

The government has decided to suspend the planned tender for two IPP geothermal working areas in East Java until pending a revision of a ministry regulation, according to a senior official.

The tender for the Telaga Ngeble and Blawan-Ijen geothermal working areas has been canceled due to Ministry Regulation No. 2 Year 2009, which stipulates that the two working areas belong to state-owned electricity firm PT PLN, Dwi Hartoto, geothermal tender officer at the directorate general of mineral, coal and geothermal, told Petromindo.com on Friday.

The tender can?t be continued until the Ministry Regulation is revised, he said.

Meanwhile, PLN?s planning and technology director Nasri Sebayang told Petromindo.Com that PLN has requested for the revision of the Ministry Regulation to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. ?So, it will still be (classified as) IPP projects,? he said.

In March, the ministry announced that participants for the Telaga Ngebel (120 MW) tender included PT Supreme Energy, Bakrie Power, PT Rekayasa Industri, and PT Cahaya Wilis Energy

For the Blawan-Ijen geothermal prospect (270 MW) the tender participants included PT Bakrie Power, and PT Cahaya Ijen Energy. (bernard)