W. Kalimantan set to start electricity import from Malaysia

Electricity consumers in West Kalimantan is set to start receiving power supply from neighboring Serawak in Malaysia after testing of a high voltage power line has been completed on Wednesday.

State-owned electricity firm PT PLN said that in the initial phase, Malaysia?s Syarikat Sarawak Electrical Supply Corporation (Sesco) Berhad will supply 10 MW of electricity, and to gradually increase to 50 MW by end of March. Sesco will further increase the power supply in accordance with the agreement made with PLN.

As has been previously reported, PLN and Sesco have signed a power exchange agreement, under which the two will be engaged in an export-import of power for 25 years. Under the plan, in the first five years, Indonesia will buy power from Malaysia at a capacity of 50 MW during daytime, and 230 MW at night. The load is considered to be enough to meet West Kalimantan?s power needs until after the PLTU Kalbar 1, 2 and 3 coal-fired power plant projects with combined capacity of 265 MW have been completed. In the second five years, there is opportunity for PLN to sell the excess power in West Kalimantan to Malaysia.

Elsewhere, PLN said that the West Kalimantan-Serawak interconnection forms part of the planned ASEAN grid system.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak