Power plant sector will need additional 100m tons coal supply per year

Construction of a combined 25,000 MW coal-fired power plants until 2019 (part of the government?s planned 35,000 MW power project) is estimated to require additional coal supply of 100 million tons per year once they?re completed, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Wednesday.

The paper quoted Head of Coal Division at state-owned electricity firm PT PLN, Helmi Najamuddin as saying that each MW is estimated to require about 4 million tons of coal per year.

Coal consumption by the power plant sector this year is estimated at around 82 million tons. This is projected to jump to around 200 million tons in 2019 when the new power plants are in operation.

Helmi said that PLN will ask coal miners in the country to make presentation about their coal production and quality so that the required technology for the planned new power plants can be adjusted to the local coal condition.

Director General of Mineral and Coal R. Sukhyar said that the government would require coal producers holding the so-called PKP2B coal mining contract to supply the coal requirement of domestic power plants. The directorate on Tuesday summoned coal miners and PLN to discuss reservation of the coal miners in supplying coal for the power plants amid price disagreement.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman at the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Farah R. Indriani was quoted by Bisnis Indonesia as saying Wednesday that the agency is currently studying measures to drastically cut down the time required by investors in obtaining all necessary permits for investing in developing power plants to support the government?s 35,000 MW power project.

Farah said that BKPM plans to cut down the time required to obtain permits to around eight months from the current three years. BKPM has also talked with related ministers on streamlining the bureaucracy procedure. (*)