NGOs call Indonesia Power to relocate Bali's power plant

An alliance of non-governmental organizations called on PT Indonesia Power, a subsidiary of state owned electricity firm PT PLN, to relocate its Pemaron combined cycle power project in Bali, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Thursday.

The Poeple Alliance for the Problems of Pemaron Combined Cycle Power Plant (KMPP) said the power project should be relocated to the southern part of Bali where the island's electricity demand is concentrated.

Otherwise, the power project must be scrapped and PLN could add power supply to Bali from Java by boosting the capacity of underwater power cables linking both islands.

Longgena Ginting, KMPP coordinator said the power plant project will potentially threaten the ecosystem and the economic and social lives of the Pemaron people.

In particular, the power plant ws feared to threaten dolphins at the Lovina beach close to Pemaron, Longgena said.

KMPP consists of prominent NGOs Walhi, Working Group on Power Sector Restructuring (WGPSR)and FMP2B.

Longgena further said that according to several electricity experts, adding the capacity of the Java-Bali underwater power cable network was more economical than building a power plant in Bali.

Commenting on the statement, PLN's director of power generation and primary energy Ali Herman Ibrahim said PLN had conducted studies for the project, including the analysis on the possible enviromental impact of the project.

He assured that the project will not bring an adverse impact on the local environment, including on dolphins in Lovina. (*)