Renewable energy set to contribute 23% to national energy needs in 2025
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Kontan Online: Energi terbarukan ditargetkan sumbang 23% kebutuhan energi nasional pada 2025
20 August 2020
By Vendy Yhulia Susanto and Noverius Laoli
Kontan.co.id – Jakarta. PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara or PLN (Persero) is forecasting electricity demand for the next ten years to devise the new 2020-2029 electricity procurement plan (RUPTL).
PLN Public Relations Vice President Arsyadany Ghana Akmalaputri said that her company was still coordinating with various stakeholders in other sectors to forecast the electricity demand and the required electricity supply.
The supply and demand forecast also calculates the electricity consumption of special economic zones (SEZs), industrial estates, smelters, priority tourism destinations, electric vehicles, as well as other potential sectors.
“It is currently still being discussed. Electricity demand for all sectors is still being coordinated to forecast supply and demand,” Arsyadany said when she was contacted by kontan.co.id on Wednesday (19/8).
Unfortunately, Arsyadany has yet to provide an outlook on the drop in electricity consumption due to Covid-19, as well as its effects on electricity projects in the RUPTL.
“We will provide an update immediately as it is still in process,” she mentioned.
Electricity Program Development Director of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Jisman Hutajulu said that his agency had yet to provide a deadline for PLN to submit the 2020-2029 RUPTL. Jisman said that his agency was currently waiting for the proposal from PLN.
“The 2019-2028 RUPTL is still active. If PLN sees that it must be revised, the government will wait [for the revision] from PLN,” he revealed.
Jisman affirmed that the target of new renewable energy contributing 23% to the electricity mix by 2025 must be prioritised and facilitated by the RUPTL.
“Target [new renewable energy] contributing 23% in 2025. This must be achieved by PLN,” Jisman continued.
On a separate occasion, Indonesian Private Electricity Producers Association (APLSI) Chairman Arthur Sumatupang also pins his hope on the same points. Arthur affirmed that PLN must balance electricity growth by providing power plants that were based on new renewable energy and fossil fuel.
So, the new RUPTL must be in line with the national electricity general plan (RUKN) of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. “Players believe that PLN will be better off observing the current development of additional electricity demand. So, utilisation of new renewable energy and fossil fuel will be rebalanced to be interconnected between systems,” Arthur said to Kontan.co.id on Thursday (20/8).
The portion of new renewable energy in the national electricity mix is still far from the 23% target. Until May 2020, the total capacity of new renewable energy power plants reached 10,426 megawatts (MW) or 14.70% of the total installed capacity of national power plants.
Previously, New Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Director General of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Sutijastoto admitted that extra effort was still required to achieve the new renewable energy mixture target. There is still a gap of 4,000 MW between the RUPTL and the 23% new renewable energy mix target in 2025.
“The gap is still quite significant, which is why we need to accelerate. This is our challenge, we must make an extraordinary effort to achieve [the target],” Sutijastoto explained.
Moreover, RUPTL is created to determine plans for electricity for the next ten years, which means the new RUPTL will be effective from 2020 to 2029, revising PLN’s 2019-2028 RUPTL. The RUPTL that is currently active was passed through Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Decision Number 39K/20/MEM/2019 on 20 February 2019.
