PLN projects coal consumption next year to increase by 18.42%

Petromindo

State-owned electricity firm PT PLN projected coal consumption by power plants in the country next year will increase by 18.42 percent to 90 million tons from the estimated 76 million tons this year, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Tuesday.

The paper quoted PLN Strategic Procurement Director II, Supangkat Iwan Santoso as saying that the increase in demand will not be driven by new coal-fired power plants, but by rising electricity production from power plants which have yet to run optimally.

Electricity production is expected to increase next year to meet growing power demand, estimated to reach 5 percent next year, Supangkat said, adding that there will be no new coal-fired power plants coming on stream next year. ?For example in Sumatra, where capacity factor is still low, production will increase because of rising electricity consumption. There will be no new coal-fired power plants (to start operation) in Java-Bali next year,? he said.

Elsewhere, Supangkat said that electricity sales in the January-September period of this year increased by 3.1 percent to 163.6 TWh from the corresponding period of last year. (*)