PLN to involve IPPs in building transmission grids

State owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) has asked independent power producers (IPPs) to take part in the construction of power transmission facilities to help the electricity company meet the government?s target of providing additional power supply of 4,500 megawatt a year, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Friday.

Murtaqi Syamsuddin, PLN?s director for planning and management risks said on Thursday that IPPs which are at present engaged only in the production of electricity would in the future be also involved in building transmission and distribution grids.

With its financial condition, it would be difficult for PLN to build the power grids with its own financial resources. ?Therefore, we need participation from IPPs,? he added.

PLN plans to increase power production capacity by 11,398 MW during the period between 2013 and 2015 to meet the rising electricity demand which is projected to increase by at least 10 percent a year. Of the total, 4,837 MW are expected to go on stream in 2013, 2,443 MW in 2014, 2,954 MW in 2015 and 1,164 MW in 2016. (*)