PLTU Suralaya's Unit 8 scheduled to operate in April

Coal fired PLTU Suralaya Unit 8 power plant, which is being built in the Suralaya power plant complex in Banten as part of the Phase One 10,000 MW crash program, is expected to start operaiton in April this year.

"The commercial operation date (COD) is sometime in April," Weddy Sudirman, Suralaya Unit 8's project manager, said on Thursday.

The Suralaya power plant complex, Indonesia's largest, is owned by state owned electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN).

First synchronization at the power plant was carried out on Jan. 22 and the power plant has started supplying power to the Java-Bali grid through a 150-kv transmission network, he said.

"The power will be supplied to three main stations, located respectively in Gandul, Balaraja and Cilegon," he said.

The power plant needs 8,000 tonnes per day or 3 million tonnes per year, he said.

The power plant has a stockpile capable of storing 240,000 tonnes, which is equal to 30 days of consumption. Today, however, the amount of coal stored there is only 97,000 tonnes. The amount is expected to increase to 200,000 tonnes in April.

The power plant get coal supplies from the consortium of PT Arutmin Indonesia and PT Dharma Henwa, PT Baramutiara Prima, PT Titan Mining Energi, and PT Matahari Anugrahg Perkasa and PT Mitra Unggul Abadi under long term contracts, he said.

Wendy however did not provide the details of the contracts, including the volume, price and duration.

The power plant now uses the coal unloading facility at the Suralaya Unit 1 power plant, which is operated by PT Indonesia Power, a subsidiary of PLN.

Accoreding to Weddy, the power plant needs coal with a calorie content of 4,200 kcal/kg.

PLN financed the development of the power plant project using loans from Cexim Bank, which provided US$334.5 million, and Bank Mega, which provided Rp 865 billion. (Giok)