PLN saves Rp 5 trillion per year thanks to gas from Arun Regas

State owned electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) will save Rp 5 trillion per year in fuel costs after using gas rather high speed diesel (HSD) at its PLTGU Belawan combined cycle power plant in North Sumatra, the company said in a statement on Monday.

PLTGU Belawan has been using HSD for many years due to the absence of gas supply but the power plant has now been able to receive gas thanks to the completion of the Arun Storage and Regassification Terminal in Aceh, also known as Arun Regas, and the 350 km-long pipeline linking the terminal to the power plant.

President Joko Widodo inaugurated on Monday the startup of the Arun Regas. The terminal has received LNG from the Tangguh LNG plant in West Papua and is now sending the gas through the Arun-Belawan pipeline to the power plant.

PLN said PLTGU Belawan needs 96 bbtud of gas for its GT 1.1, GT 2.1 and GT 2.2 gas turbines and another 2.2 bbtud for a leased gas engine power plant (PLTMG) in the port city. The firm thus needs a total of 98 bbtud of gas for its power plant operation there.

It noted however that the power plant will still use marine fuel oil (MFO) for two power units each with a capacity of 65 MW, but the gas supply from Arun Regas has enabled the power plant to cut its oil fuel consumption by 80 percent.

PLN signed a contract with BP Tangguh, the operator of Tangguh LNG plant, on Oct. 17, 2014 to supply PLN with LNG through 2033 with destinations including Arun Regas. PLN pays fees to PT Perta Arun Gas, the owner of Arun Regas, for the regassification of the gas and for Pertagas, the owner of the Arun-Belawan pipeline, for the transportation of the gas from Arun Regas to Belawan.

The Arun-Belawan pipeline was inaugurated on Dec. 12, 2014 by Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said and the Arun Regas received the first LNG cargo from Tangguh for commissioning on Feb. 19, 2014.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon