Govt plans three new power plants to replace Batang plant

The government plans three new steam and gas power plants with a combined capacity of 2,000 MW to help prevent looming electricity crisis following a delay in the construction of the giant Batang coal-fired power plant in Central Java.

Director General of Electricity Jarman told the press on Thursday that the planned power plants will be located in Muara Karang, Tanjung Priok (North Jakarta), and in Muara Tawar (Bekasi, West Java), to be built by independent power producers (IPPs).

?(We) will hold tender first, construction procurement for the plants will be in 2018 at the soonest,? Jarman said.

PT Bhimasena Power Indonesia, a consortium comprising of PT Adaro Power and Japanese firms, has recently declared a force majeure status for its 2x1,000 MW coal-fired power plant in Batang Regency, Central Java, due to difficulties in completing the acquisition of the remaining land for the project, which was originally scheduled to be completed in 2016. In April, then chief economics minister Hatta Rajasa said that the completion of the project has been pushed back to 2018.

The US$4 billion Batang power plant project, dubbed to be the largest in Southeast Asia, is seen crucial to help avoid power crisis in Java as it will supply about 30 percent of electricity consumption in the country?s most-populated island. (*)