Salim Osman, Straits Times 23 Feb 08;
JAKARTA - INDONESIA'S most crowded island of Java and tourist hot spot of Bali are likely to be hit by more blackouts as coal stocks in two big power plants are in danger of running out over the next couple of days.
State electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) warned yesterday that bad weather was still hampering the delivery of coal to power plants in Java and Bali as ships carrying the commodity were not able to dock at ports.
Its spokesman Mulyo Adji said the Tanjung Jati power plant in Central Java, which has a capacity of 1,320 megawatts, only had coal stocks for one day.
The Cilacap power plant, also in Central Java, which has a capacity of 600 megawatts, had coal stocks that will last until tomorrow.
'There will be many blackout areas in Java and Bali islands if the two power plants stop supply,' an Energy Ministry official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.
Since bad weather struck Indonesia this week, huge waves have prevented ships carrying coal from docking at ports in Java, hampering the delivery of the commodity to the power plants.
The task of supplying coal to all the power plants in Java and Bali is undertaken by nine ships although the company requires 15 ships to do the job, said PLN.
Yesterday, Coordinating Economic Minister Boediono told reporters that the government would consider allowing the PLN to use foreign-flagged ships to help out.
Meanwhile, PLN transmission director Herman Darnel Ibrahim said the company would switch to more expensive oil-based fuel to replace coal.
Rolling blackouts have been imposed in Java and Bali because of the power crunch since Monday.
The PLN head in Bali, Mr Hendra Saleh, told The Straits Times that there was sufficient power supply for Bali in the coming weeks, as power cuts were imposed mainly in outlying districts instead of the tourist areas.
'We don't want the power shortage to affect our tourism industry, which is our economic lifeline,' he said.
In Jakarta, the PLN has imposed power outages of three to four hours in several parts of the capital.
PLN has also asked industries to use generators rather than electricity to ease the power demand.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) yesterday said that rolling blackouts in Java and Bali were bad for business and the tourism sector.
Parliament Speaker Agung Laksono also hit out at the state power company yesterday, saying that the PLN should not blame the weather for the disruption in supply.
