Indonesian government said it will increase the charges of electricity to be bought by state-owned electricity company PT PLN from geothermal plants in order to help revive the stalled projects.
The government expects the new pricing plan to encourage the developers to resume the geothermal projects that were suspended due to lack of funds. The price rise is anticipated to be in the range of $0.17 and $0.30 per kWh.
At Indonesia International Geothermal Convention and Exhibition, stated Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik stated that the rate of price rise will be determined through a tender process with the lowest bidder winning the project being auctioned.
Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources new and renewable energy and energy conservation director Rida Mulyana stated that the new price rates will be introduced by next week.
The prices are to be decided upon based on the power production capacity of the plant, added Mulyana.
The government is said to have classified the projects into five groups – 55MW, 20MW-55MW, 10MW-20MW, 5MW-10MW, and under 5MW.
Meanwhile, the data from geothermal directorate revealed that the government has given its nod to seven projects in 2013 totaling a capacity of 787MW spread across Sulawesi, Java and Sumatera.