RI's power plants will need 72 million tons of coal a year in 2010

State owned electricity company PLN said the coal needs of the country's power plants are expected to sharply increase to at least 71.9 million tons a year by 2010 from only about 29.3 million tons a year at present.

PLN's deputy director for premier energy Tonny Agus Mulyantono said in Jakarta on Friday that the additional coal demands would come from the 10,000 MW coal-fired power plants which would be built under a crash program. All the power plants would need about 26.7 million tons of coal a year.

Besides, new power plants operated under joint ventures with PLN will need about a total of 4.4 million tons, new power plants operated by IPP about 9.7 million tons. There will also be an additional demand of about 2 million tons of coal for power plants in crisis areas.

PLN has recently opened a tender for the coal supply. Of the 26 companies submitted their tender documents, only 15 companies were qualified to take part in the final bidding. (godang)