RI, Malaysia to build joint power transmission lines

The governments of Indonesia and Malaysia have agreed to jointly build power transmission lines connecting the two countries to facilitate the supply of electricity between the two nations.

Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said on Friday met with his Malaysian counterpart Maximus Johnity Ongkili in Jakarta to discuss the plan as part of the proposed Asean Power Grid to help increase energy sufficiency in the region.

Sudirman said in a statement Sunday that that projects are being prepared to be developed in Kalimantan and Sumatra both power generations and transmission. ?The idea is if Indonesia suffers power shortage, then we can import the excess power in Malaysia. Likewise, if Indonesia has excess power, we can export it to Malaysia,? he said.

Indonesia plans to import power from Malaysia?s Kuching for supply in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. Initial import will be at a capacity of 50 MW, Kontan reported.

Meanwhile, Indonesia will export power from coal-fired power project in North Kalimantan to Malaysia?s Sabah at an initial capacity of 300 MW. Indonesia also plans to export 600 MW of power from the a 2x600 MW coal-fired power plant in Peranap, Indragiri Hulu, Riau, to Malaysia.

?The one which is almost ready is the Peranap power plant. We hope that the power plant can be completed before 2019,? said Director General of Electricity Jarman.

Editing by Reiner Simanujuntak