PGE seeks to complete PLTP Lahendong unit 6 in December

ESDM

PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE), a subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina, aims to complete the construction of the PLTP Lahendong geothermal power plant unit 6 in Minahasa Regency, North Sulawesi Province, in December of this year.

If this can be realized, the commercial operation date could be held much sooner than the initial target of June 2017.

This was revealed by Pertamina in a statement issued on Saturday following a visit by Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan to the PLTP Lahendong unit 5 and 6 projects, with combined capacity of 2x20 MW, both of which required total investment of US$228.7 million.

Pertamina is optimistic it would be able to accelerate the completion of the PLTP Lahendong unit 6 project, whose construction progress has reached more than 95 percent. The company said that it had managed to accelerate the completion of the PLTP Lahendong unit 5, whose commercial operation date was held on September 15 of this year, earlier than the initial target of December 2016.

Once the PLTP Lahendong unit 6 starts operation, the combined capacity of the Lahendong geothermal power plant will reach 120 MW. The power plant plays an important role in the supply of electricity to the North Sulawesi and Gorontalo power system, which currently has installed capacity of 320 MW, against the region?s electricity consumption of 340 MW.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak