PLN to open tender for Sumatra-Java interconnection this month

State electricity company PLN will officially open a tender in April for the construction of a 700-km power interconnection between Sumatra and Java, including 40 km of an undersea power grid through the Sunda strait.

The construction of the interconnection, which is scheduled for commencement in 2013, is expected to begin operation in 2017.

PLN said that the interconnection which would use high-voltage direct current (HVDC) system for the interconnection would have a capacity to supply 3,000 MW of electricity from Sumatra to Java or the other way around.

A number of coal-fired power plants with combined capacity of 3,000 MW are currently under construction in South Sumatra. In Java, there are also a number of new power plants with combined capacity of 10,000 MW that have just begun operation or under construction.

The Sumatra-Java inter-connection project will comprise:
- The construction of two converter stations to be built in Muara Enim, South Sumatra and in Bogor, West Java
- A 40-km undersea power grid along the Sunda Strait with a capacity of 500-kv DC between Ketapang in Lampung and Salira, Banten, then to Bogor.
- Overhead power grid with a capacity of 275 kV AC from the converter station in Muara Enim and the 275 kV Sumatra transmission system.

The interconnection project will encompass several regencies in South Sumatra including Muara Enim, Ogan Komering Ulu, OKU Timur, Ogan Komering Ilir and several regencies in Lampung including Tulang Bawang, Central Lampung, East Lampung and South Lampung, while in Java, the project will encompass Cilegon city, Serang, Pandeglang, Lebak and Bogor.

Editing by Roffie Kurniawan