wiredinUSA April 2014

INDEX

Sumatran grid improvements

PLN’s operations director for Java, Bali and Sumatra, IGN Adnyana said the Medan area in North Sumatra suffers electricity supply shortages; demand for electricity in the area reaches 1,700MW during peak hours while the supply is only 1,450MW. “Currently a number of power plants are under construction in Palembang [South Sumatra], which will be completed by 2016. When the plants are completed, the transmission network will help the north of the island. The transmission network will be a long-term plan,” he said. PLN’sdirector forconstruction,Nasri Sebayang has said that the company is looking at 25 projects to be completed this year under a fast-track program, offering a total capacity of 3,539MW.

Indonesian state-owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) will spend $5.24 billion on improving power transmission facilities in Sumatra. Minister for state-owned enterprises Dahlan Iskan confirmed that PLN will work on the project with other five state-owned firms. Sumatra has, for years, experienced frequent blackouts due to the island’s inadequate power facilities. “We will have further meetings about the project. The idea is how to build transmission from electricity-surplus areas in southern Sumatra to the north,” said M Aprindy, corporate secretary of PT Adhi Karya, one of the partner companies. Details of the scaleof the transmission network have not been confirmed.

ASIA / AFRICA NEWS

wiredInUSA - April 2014

41