Kalimantan's Katingan regency invites IPPs to develop hydro power plant

The local government of the Katingan regency in Central Kalimantan is inviting state owned electricity company PLN and independent power producers (IPPs) to develop a hydro power plant in the regency, Kompas reported on Wednesday.

The regent of Katingan, Duwel Rawing, said that the regency had many untapped potentials for the development of a hydro power plant, including the Riam Jerawi river which is estimated to be able produce a great amount of power supply.

According to him, the development of the Riam Jerawi river alone would be able to cope with the power shortage in the regency which reaches about 663 kilowatt. He said that at present the electricity need is about 2,648 kWh in normal hours and about 3,311 kWh in peak hours.

At present, only about 30 percent of the regent's 30,580 residents in the regency use electricity. Due to the lack of power supply, the residents especially in villages can only enjoy electricity for five hours to 12 hours a day. (*)