PLN to increase electricity supply by 19,167 MW until 2015

State-owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) has targeted to increase its national electricity supply by 19,167 Megawatt until 2015 that will be mostly derived from using coal.

?Of the total capacity, some 13,725 MW will be from coal-powered plants which are currently being developed in Java and Bali, 3,516 MW in Sumatra, and 1,926 MW in other islands,? said PLN?s primary energy director Nur Pamudji during a discussion of 16th Coaltrans Asia in Bali International Convention Center in Nusa Dua, Bali on Monday.

Until now, he said, Indonesia is still dominated by developments of coal-fired power plants. The others are hydro-power, geothermal, and natural gas power plants.

He urged all stakeholders present at the 16th Coaltrans to use coal for the development of power plants. ?We hope we can get inputs from you on, for example, how to upgrade low-rank coal to high-rank coal and to efficiently transport it to power plants,? he said.

The other speakers at the discussion was Bambang Setiawan, director of mineral, coal, and geothermal at the ministry of energy and mineral resources, and its moderator was Bob Kamandanu, the chairman of Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI). The discussion was about government?s policy and investment opportunities in geothermal energy. (godang)