Economy & Business

PLN Seeking to Buy LPG
Thursday, 07 July, 2005 | 21:04 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The State Electricity Company, PLN, is seeking to buy liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to lessen fuel consumption at its power plants.

This action has been taken bearing in mind that international oil prices have reached the level of US$60 per barrel.

PLN’s Power Plant and Primary Energy Director Ali Herman Ibrahim said this was considered beneficial in economical terms.

Compared to the price of imported fuels, the price of domestic LPG is much cheaper.

For example, the current export price of LPG has reached US$380 per ton or Rp3,600 per kilogram, while fuel prices have reached the level of Rp4,800 per liter.

“We’re acting in anticipation of possible electricity blackouts through economies and using alternative energy such as LPG,” said Ibrahim on Tuesday (05/07).

According to him, the caloric values of LPG are higher than other fuels so therefore usage volume can be lower.

PLN estimates that LPG required each year could reach around one million tons and could be supplied from several places such as the Bontang, Balikpapan and Arun refineries.

However, PLN is carrying out technical reviews, including optimizing machinery levels at power plants, and plans that the consumption of LPG would only last until 2007.

Next year, four new power plants, with a total capacity of 2,660 megawatts will come on line.

These three plants are a steam-powered plant at Cilacap, with a capacity of 600 megawatts, two steam-powered plants at Tanjung Jati, each with a capacity of 660 megawatts and an oil fired combined-cycle power plant at Cilegon, with a capacity of 740 megawatts.

PLN hopes that by early 2008, fuel consumption will reduce to below five percent.

Currently, fuel consumption at power plants is still high, amounting to 30 percent of national electricity production.

“For every 1,000 megawatts, 1.75 million tons of fuel will be saved,” said Ibrahim. (MUHAMAD FASABENI | RETNO SULISTYOWATI-Tempo News Room)