PLN says HVDC project will not start in near future
Monday, April 10 2017 - 07:23 AM WIB
State-owned electricity firm PT PLN said that while the 500 kV High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission project linking Sumatra and Java islands will be included in the company?s upcoming new 2017-2026 electricity procurement business plan (or RUPTL), it will not start construction of the project in the near future.
Amir Rosidin, PLN Business Director for Sumatra Region, said on Monday that the undersea transmission project would not be implemented in the near future as Sumatra is currently still in need of huge electricity supply.
He said that it will only be implemented once Sumatra has enjoyed electricity surplus. ?It (HVDC project) will start construction around 2022-2023. The transmission project will be developed when Sumatra is in power surplus condition. Currently, Sumatra still requires (huge) electricity supply,? he said.
The HVDC project has long been planned to allow the transmission of electricity from Sumatra to heavily populated island of Java. Last year, PLN expressed opposition to the project arguing that Sumatra requires huge electricity supply to help support the region?s economic growth as such it is not in a position to export power to Java. The company added that the HVDC project was drafted many years ago when Sumatra?s economy was not yet as developed as it is now where power demand has been growing fast.
Meanwhile, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan said that the HVDC project is an important project as it could also be used to transmit power from Java to Sumatra.
Jonan projected that Java will enjoy a power surplus of 5 GW in 2020. He expected PLN could start the project in 2021 in the hope it could be completed in 2024.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak