PLN officially tasked to build the Upper Cisokan Hydro Electric Power Plant
Saturday, February 11 2012 - 02:49 AM WIB
The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has issued a Ministerial Regulation No.6/2012 to officially appoint state electricity company PLN to build the Upper Cisokan Pumped Storage Hydro Electric Power Plant located at the border of West Bandung and Cianjur regencies, in West Java. The plant will have four generator units, each with a capacity of 260 megawatt (MW).
The decree was issued as part of the government?s program to speed up the construction of power plants using renewable energy, coal and gas.
PLN recently signed a loan agreement with the World Bank to finance the construction of the plant which is expected to generate power at total capacity of 1,040 MW, making it the largest hydro power plant in the country.
The Upper Cisokan Hydropower utilizes pumped storage mechanism, the first of its kind in Indonesia. The total cost of the project is expected to reach US$800 million. About $640 million is funded by loan and $160 million from the State Budget.
The West Java Governor has issued the required permit on October 27, 2011 and followed by the signing of agreement. Therefore, the project should now be ready to enter construction stage. It is expected to commence operation in 2016.
Editing by Roffie Kurniawan