PLN launches smart grid in Bali

State owned electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) launched on Wednesday a smart grid system in Bali to support the program of making the tourist island into a Clean and Green Province.

The launching was carried out in a ceremony attended by among others Bali?s Governor I Made Mangku Pastika and PLN?s Regional Business Director for Eastern Java and Bali Amin Subekti, the firm said in a statement.

Amin explained that the Bali Eco Smart Grid operates on the basis of information technology, which allows for a two-way communication between PLN as power supplier and its customers as buyers. This makes customers able to monitor their power usage. In the conventional grid system, there is only a one-way communication between PLN and its customers. PLN is able to monitor the power consumption of its customers, while customers are unable to do so.

Furthermore, thanks to the smart grid system, PLN will be able to quickly carry out adjustment in case of faults. Customers will also be encouraged to use power generated from renewable energy.

Another advantage of the smart grid system is that it provides opportunities for PLN?s customers to also act as power producers in the future. ?This will come true for customers who have installed solar panels at their homes or buildings. They will be provided with an export-import metering system,? Amin said.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon