PLN drafting new RUPTL amid slower electricity sales
Wednesday, October 18 2017 - 02:14 AM WIB
State-owned electricity firm PT PLN said it is still in the process of drafting the new 2018-2027 electricity procurement business plan (or better known as RUPTL) as the utility firm faces the challenge of slower than anticipate electricity sales.
PLN Corporate Planning Director Syofvi Felienty Roekman said on Tuesday that the company is still evaluating various assumptions to make adjustment as some of the assumptions used in the current 2017-2026 RUPTL have not been realized.
?There are a number (of assumptions) that need to be adjusted. One of them is the fact that electricity sales is not in line with the (assumptions of) 2017-2026 RUPTL. PLN also needs to think of ways to increase electricity sales,? Syofvi said.
Electricity sales have been slower than anticipated due to the country?s current economic growth which is slower than previously assumed.
As per August, average growth of electricity sales stood at only 2.8 percent, must lower than the assumption of 8.3 percent set in the 2017-2026 RUPTL. ?This needs to be adjusted. What is clear the 2018-2027 RUPTL must be quickly completed,? she said.
She added that given the slower electricity sales, PLN will not add new power plant projects in the 2018-2027 RUPTL, maintaining the earlier target set in the current RUPTL of developing a total of 77.9 GW power plants through 2027. ?We?ll not add new power plants. We?ll use the assumption used in 2017 (2017-2026 RUPTL) to adjust to current load demand,? she said.
She added that in line with the instruction of Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan, PLN will not propose new coal-fired power plant (PLTU) projects in Java, focusing instead PLTU projects particularly mine mouth power plants in Sumatra and Kalimantan, the country?s top coal-producing islands.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak