Sulawesi suffers electricity crisis
Saturday, August 19 2006 - 02:22 AM WIB
The crisis has been caused by the drop in the production capacity in the Bakaru hydro power plant in Pinrang Regency, South Sulawesi and the decreasing supply of oil fuel used to fire the 65-MW Suppa power plant.
Tello coal-fired power plant which is now broken down has also contributed to the power crisis.
Consequently, the 71 units of power plants which normally produce 560.72 MW are only able to produce 360 MW.
PLN?s General Manager for South and North Sulawesi Region Ariffudin Nurdin said that the water crisis facing the Bakaru reservoir on which Bakaru hydro power plant rely had an impact on the power plant system. The reservoir is now able to supply only 63 MW, or 35 percent of about 126 MW which the plant normally produces, he said.
According to him, the Bakaru reservoir?s water volume has decreased from 6,128,046 meter cubic to 791,854 meter cubic. ?The condition is worsened by the increase in sediment volume in the reservoir,? he was quoted by Media Indonesia saying.
He said that Tello coal-fired power plant which normally produces 97.7 MW can now only produce 30 MW due to a damage. To handle the problem, PLN should first get spare parts from Singapore which would take four days to complete, he said.
The blackouts in the three regions is unavoidable due to the decreasing supply of oil fuel for the diesel power plant in Suppa. The oil fuel supply is only sufficient for the plant to operate until the next three days. ?The fuel supply from Pertamina, which was scheduled to reach (Suppa) on August 17, arrived at the areas late,? he said.
Arifuddin has asked the government to be involved in solving the crisis because the problem was not merely arising from PLN.
He also called on local residents, especially households, to consume electricity thriftily given that power consumers from households reache 1.3 million, accounting for the largest power consumers in the regions. (*)