Muara Tawar power plant included in the govt's top priorities

The operation of the 920-megawatt Muara Tawar combined cycle power plant in Bekasi was among the top priority programs to be carried by the new government in the first 100 days of administration, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Friday.

"It is quite important to speed up the process of connecting the new power plant to the Java-Bali power grid in a bid to the improve the reliability of the electricity distribution system in the two islands," Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro told journalists on Thursday.

Purnomo said that in addition to the integration of the Muara Tawar plant to the Java-Bali power grid, the government would also speed up the operation of several other power plants in eastern Indonesia during the first 100 days of the new government's agenda.

Among them are the Ulumbu (2.5 MW) and Mataloko (5 MW) geothermal power plants in East Nusa Tenggara, which would boost electricity supply in rural areas in the eastern Indonesia.

Purnomo said that the other priorities included the operation of nine coal briquette factories in West Sumatra, Bengkulu, Bangka, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, West Java, East Java and Yogyakarta.

"The operation of the coal briquette factories is necessary in a bid to support the government's drive to diversify energy sources," the minister said. (*)