Toba Sejahtera develops power plant in East Kalimantan

By Sonar Sihombing

Toba Sejahtera Group, through its subsidiary PT Kertanegara Energi Perkasa, is developing a gas-fired power plant with a generation capacity of 120 MW in Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan.

?It?ll start operation in December this year. We hope it will become a backbone for the Kalimantan power transmission,? PT Kertanegara Energi Perkasa President Director Bambang Irawan told OGE Asia and Petromindo.com in Jakarta on Friday.

He noted that total investment needed for the development of the power plant was about US$168 million. His company will get the gas supply from PT Total Indonesie.

According to him, Toba Sejahtera is also participating in a tender organized by state utility PT PLN to develop a mine mouth power plant in Sanga-sanga, East Kalimantan.

This power plant will have a generation capacity of 2 X 25 Megawatt (MW). ?Actually, we?ve got an approval to build a power plant for our own consumption and we?ll sell our excess to PLN. But under the excess scheme, PLN will only purchase the power for one year. We then change the plan into an independent power producer (IPP) scheme to participate in the tender of building the mine mouth power plant. Based on this contract, PLN will buy power for a period of 25 years,? he said.

He said that the problem with the one year contract with PLN was the fact that there was no bank interested in financing the project as there would be no guarantee after one year.

In Manara, South Sumatra, the company will develop a geothermal power plant. ?We?re now waiting for a meeting with South Sumatra Governor to discuss about the project. After discussion with the Governor, then we?ll talk with PLN to negotiate on the geothermal power price. Our price was previously based on the old scheme at 9.7 U.S. cent per KWH. Based on a new scheme, the price is increased to 14.5 US cents per kWh. But there has been no ministerial decree issued on this yet,? said Bambang, adding that the geothermal power plant would have a generation capacity of 2x10 MW with a planned investment of about US$3 million per MW.

Toba Sejahtera also has a coal-fired power plant, which has been operated by its subsidiary PT Pusaka Jaya Palu Power since 2007 in Sulawesi. Its generation capacity will be increased from the current 30 MW to 60 MW. ?We hope that the construction for the power increase can be started in the first quarter of next year,? Toba Sejahtera Group President Director Luhut B. Panjaitan told OGE Asia and Petromindo.com.

Editing by Benget Besalicto Tnb.