PLN completes drafting 2017-2025 RUPTL

State-owned electricity firm PT PLN has completed drafting the new 2017-2025 electricity procurement business plan (or better known as RUPTL), and has submitted the draft to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Wednesday.

The paper quoted Director General of Electricity Jarman as saying that the ministry is currently discussing with PLN the RUPTL draft prior to be signed by Minister Ignasius Jonan.

The 2017-2025 RUPTL is a revision to the earlier 2016-2025 RUPTL. PLN revises the RUPTL annually to accommodate new developments including economic growth. The 2016-2025 RUPTL assumes electricity demand in 2025 to reach 457 TWh, growing at an average rate of 8.6 percent per year. Jarman declined to disclose what changes are being made.

PLN Corporate Planning Director Nicke Widyawati said that among of the changes include PLN?s decision to drop the 500 kV high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line linking Sumatra and Java.

She added that under the new RUPTL, the commercial operation target date for the planned PLTU Sumsel 8 coal-fired power plant in South Sumatra has been pushed back to 2023 from 2019 set under the 2016-2025 RUPTL following the decision to drop the HVDC transmission line project. (*)