Indonesia's energy ministry (ESDM) has accelerated the signing of medium-rank coal supply contracts for state-owned coal-fired power plants located on the Java grid to address rolling blackouts experienced in the region over the the past two weeks, an ESDM official told Argus on 22 June.
Coal deliveries to power plants remain consistent, but the shipments are composed mainly of lower-rank coal which has resulted in power plants operating at a reduced capacity due to coal specification mismatches compared with the requirements of the plants, ESDM said. The rankings classify coal based on their content and characteristics.
To address this, ESDM has created a cross-sector procurement team to ensure that there is adequate supply of coal with a calorific value (CV) of GAR 5,200 kcal/kg being delivered to coal-fired plants in the region, the ESDM official said.
Shipments of medium-rank coal have already been secured from coal mining companies, including large-scale producers Kaltim Prima Coal, Indo Tambangraya Megah (ITMG), and state-owned producer Bukit Asam, the official said. The coal will be used for blending with lower-grade coal to improve coal-plant firing and restore output to boilerplate capacity.
The plants identified with shortages of GAR 5,200 kcal/kg coal include Pelabuhan Ratu, Lontar, Labuan, Suralaya units 1 to 8, Jawa 7, 9 and 10, Indramayu, Paiton units 1, 2, and 9, Rembang, Pacitan, and Tanjung Awar-Awar, the official added.
Meanwhile, state-owned utility PLN is already working on reconnecting two baseload independent power plants (IPPs) in Cilacap and Pancitan that went off line due to technical issues, it said.
The disconnection of the power plants from the grid, along with the de-rated output of coal plants due to the burning of lower-grade coal, resulted in a temporary dip in power supply, with the power deficit reaching 2GW, PLN said.
This prompted PLN to implement load shedding to ensure grid stability, resulting in rolling blackouts. One of the power plants has already been reconnected to the grid over the weekend and the remaining power plant is expected to come on line within the week, PLN said.
By Antonio delos Reyes
