INDONESIA’S STATE-OWNED electricity utility company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) proposes to build 72 new hydro power plants in the next ten years to forestall a shortage in the country's power supply.
The proposed power plants, with a total capacity of 7380MW, will be made up of 24 units in Sumatra, 15 in Sulawesi, 11 in Java-Madura, eight in Bali-Nusatenggara, seven in Kalimantan, five in Maluku and two in Papua. Three of the plants, totalling 261MW in generation capacity, are already in the final phase of preparation for construction. PLN currently has 41 units of hydro power plants in all with a generating capacity of 3266MW and producing 10,536GWh of electricity every year.