RI-Malaysia power connection to begin operation in 2014

State power company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) expects to buy large-scale electricity supply from neighboring Malaysia after the construction of a transmission network connecting West Kalimantan and Sarawak in Malaysia is completed in 2014, The Jakarta Post reported on Tuesday.

PLN president director Nur Pamudji told reporters that between 50 and 100 megawatts (MW) of electricity could be traded via the planned 275-kilovolt (kV) transmission line. The discussions on constructing the necessary facilities were underway, he added.

?Actually, we currently import electricity from Sarawak, but the capacity is very small, below 1 MW from a micro hydro-power plant:? he said after the signing of an agreement between PLN and Garuda Indonesia Maintenance Facility Aero Asia (PT GMF Aero Asia), a subsidiary of publicly-listed national-flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.

Separately, Murtaqi Syamsuddin of PLN planning and risk management said the firm expected that the tender process for the West Kalimantan-Sarawak transmission could begin this year. The company will team up with Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) in constructing the network..

The agreement for the West Kalimantan-Sarawak power transmission was signed in July last year. The transmission line will span 122 kilometers from Bengkayang in West Kalimantan to Mambong in Sarawak.

According to PLN?s electricity procurement business plans (RUPTL), the transmission will be ready for commercial operations in 2017.

In addition, another transmission line connecting Indonesia and Malaysia would also be built to enable PLN to sell the power surplus from South Sumatra to Malaysia. ?However, discussions on the construction of the two transmission lines have not yet gone into detail,? he revealed.

As reported earlier, PLN plans to build mine-mouth coal-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 7,310 MW in Sumatra, predominantly in South Sumatra. The electricity will be used to anticipate growing electricity demand not only in the island, but also in Java.

Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Widjajono Partowidagdo has also suggested that PLN build a 4,000 MW coal-fired power plant in Batam to supply electricity to Singapore so that Indonesia can use the gas allocation for Singapore which is currently burned to generate power for domestic purposes.(*)