- VIVAnews/Ikhwan Yanuar
VIVAnews – In addition to importing electricity from Serawak, Malaysia, Indonesia will also start exporting 600 megawatt of electricity in 2017 from Sumatra to the Malaysian peninsula following the decrease in coal and gas exports.
President Director of state-run electricity company PLN, Nur Pamudji, said the export from Sumatra to Malaysia will be carried out when Sumatra's electricity demand is fulfilled. By 2017, the demand will reach 7,000 megawatt with 90% of electrification rate given Sumatra’s electricity reserve of 11,600 megawatt in the same year.
“PLN will have 40% more reserves from which amount will be distributed to Malaysia and Java in 2017,” said Nur Pamudji in Jakarta on Friday.
Director General of Electricity at the Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources, Jarman, said electricity trade among developed countries is common.
To implement the electricity export plan, PLN will begin discussion with Malaysia next week.
Jarman said the export is aimed at reducing coal and gas exports to Indonesia's neighboring countries as the materials are used to power their power plants. On the other hand, industries in Indonesia are also lacking gas supply.
“This is one of our prospects. Instead of selling gas and coal, we just sell electricity. Thus, we can use our gas and coal by ourselves,” he said.
Although Indonesia will begin exporting electricity, our domestic electricity supply, especially for the industries, will not lack any. Governmental Regulation No. 42/2012 specifies the sale of electricity between countries can be carried out with three conditions: local electricity demand is met; the electricity being sold not uses subsidies; local electricity’s quality and supply is controlled.
