PLN to start coal mine acquisition in Sumatra next year
Thursday, November 23 2017 - 12:58 AM WIB
Petromindo
State-owned electricity firm PT PLN said it will start gradually realizing its planned acquisition of coal mines in Sumatra next year in a bid to secure coal supply for its power plants and reduce production cost.
?We already have the list (of acquisition targets), but I can?t disclose it because we have yet to reach a deal. We?re processing (acquisition) in Sumatra, possibly (to be realized) next year. The acquisition will be made gradually,? said PLN Director of Strategic Procurement 2, Supangkat Iwan Santoso to Petromindo.com on Wednesday.
He said that PLN is preparing two schemes of acquisition. First is acquiring coal mines to develop mine mouth power plants, and the second is acquisition to ensure coal supply for its conventional coal-fired power plants.
He said that aside from ensuring coal supply for the power plants, the acquisition is also expected to allow the company obtain cheaper and stable price of the fuel, which will help cut down production cost, and in turn will help reduce tariff for consumers.
In the development of the mine mouth power plants, PLN will team up with private coal miners.
Supangkat said that PLN aims to control around 50 percent of domestic coal supply by 2019.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak