PLN buys oil to solve power supply crisis

Public utility PT PLN has prepared Rp 115 billion to purchase diesel for its Tanjung Priok combined cycle power plant following a drop in gas supplies from the offshore West Java gas fields owned by British firm BP Plc.

PLN?s spokesman Mulyo Adjie said on Tuesday that PLN had been buying 1,600 kiloliters per day of diesel from PLN starting Monday to operate the oil-based power units at its Tanjung Priok power plant.

?We have prepared Rp 115 billion of funds for the purchase of the fuel over a period of two weeks,? he said.

BP cut gas supplies to the power plant as well as the Muara Karang power plant starting May 19 because of a leakage at pipes that transport the gas. BP has said the rupture in the sub-sea pipeline may be caused by an anchor and investigation and repair workers may take at least two weeks.

BP cut its gas supplies to the power plant from 240 billion British thermal unit to 150 billion British thermal unit as a result of the incident.

The disruption in the gas supplies forced PLN to halt the operation of its gas-fired units at both power plants. This resulted in the decline in the power supplies on the Java-Bali grid by 750 Megawatt (MW).

The oil-based units at the Tanjung Priok power plant have a combined capacity of 200 MW.

Mulyo said PLN thus far had no idea about the reasons behind the disruption in gas supplies from BP.

?We shall meet with BP and (upstream authority) BP Migas on the incident,? Mulyo said. (Godang)