Java, Bali facing more blackouts

Ika Krismantari and Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta-Bandung

Electricity supply in Java and parts of Bali is at a critical balance as the country's biggest coal-powered generator, located in Central Java, burned through the last of its coal Friday night, with continued high seas hampering delivery of more coal.

A spokesman for state power firm PT PLN, Ario Subijoko, said Friday high seas were preventing ships carrying coal from docking near the Tanjung Jati plant in Jepara, further jeopardizing electricity supplies in Java and parts of Bali already suffering from rotating blackouts.

He said if coal ships were still unable to dock in Jepara by Saturday, PLN would attempt to transport by truck coal from ships now docked at a port in Semarang, the capital of Central Java province.

"However, it will be difficult as the loading capacity of each truck is only 20 tons," Ario.

The 1,320-megawatt Tanjung Jati power plant requires a coal supply of 3,000 tons each day.

The trip between Semarang and the plant takes about 60 to 90 minutes, if traffic is not bad.

Ario said if it proved impossible to transport the coal overland, the Tanjung Jati plant would have to shut down. However, he refused to say how much of a power supply deficit Java and Bali would suffer in this event.

He reported PLN was able to reverse a 300 megawatt deficit in power supply for Java and parts of Bali to a surplus of 230 megawatts after successfully switching some of its power generators to diesel fuel from coal.

The power surplus, he said, was sustainable at least through Sunday as factories and offices shut down their operations for the weekend.

Fabi Tumiwa, director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform, said if PLN failed to secure a coal supply, Java and Bali would suffer a power deficit of 600 to 1,000 megawatts, as the coal stocks of the other power supply providers such as the Cilacap and Paiton power plants were also depleting.

"For this weekend, the lower peak loads will help us, so there will be no blackouts until Sunday," Ari said, while warning of a critical condition for Java and Bali starting Monday.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, State Minister for Research and Technology Kusmayanto Kadiman said the country immediately needed to begin work on a nuclear power plant, to end its dependency on diesel and coal, as demanded by a 2007 law on government planning.

He said of 16 locations surveyed by the ministry's office, six were found to ideal for a nuclear plant, all of them along the coast of Java Island.

"Of the six, the Muria Peninsula has the highest stability rate for the operation of a nuclear power plant. Nevertheless, we see some opposition from residents there," he said.

Kusmayanto said investors were already interested in the nuclear plant project.

In response, PLN commissioner Al Hilal Hamdi said more research and liability studies were needed before beginning work on a nuclear plant, to ensure public safety.

"Seismic activity is something that needs to be accounted for within the study .... Maybe it is better to put (the plant) far from human habitations, far from Java. Batam island could be an ideal place," he said

Earlier, the National Nuclear Power Agency said the blueprint for a plant in Muria with a 7,000 megawatt took into account the possibility of seismic activity.