Oldest Power Plant In Indonesia Resumes Operations

Padang ( Berita ) :  PT PLN overseeing West Sumatra in association with private business and the West Sumatra provincial administration resumed the operation of the microhydro-electric energy plant PLTM Salido Kecil in Pesisir Selatan regency one of the oldest and historical power plants in Indonesia.

PLTM Salido Kecil and two of its turbines built in 1913, and another turbine built in 1925, is one of the oldest power plants in Indonesia,  General Manager PT PLN for West Sumatra Hudiono said in Padang on Monday.

The opration of the 330 kW PLTM was marked with the signing of a cooperation agreement between  PT PLN for West Sumatra and the West Sumatra provincial administration, and  PT Anggrek Mekar Sari, last week. According to history, PLTM Salido Kecil was built by the Dutch colonial administration for gold prospecting and mining in Salido Kecil.

During the Second World War, this power plant was taken over by the Japanese occupation administration, and in the early years of Indonesia’s independence the power plant was seriously damaged by floods in the areas.

In 1960 the government authorized PT Anggrek Mekar Sari to conduct repairs on the PLTM, which later managed and operated the power plant.

After its three turbines had been repaired, the PLTM was back on its feet operating in Pesisir Selatan. But since Pesisir Selatan was covered by the West Sumatra power grid with the operation of the hydro-electric power plant PLTA Maninjau, the role of PLTM Salido kecil started to decline.

The operational cooperation stopped in 1995 as the turbines of PLTM Salido Kecil were damaged.

The decree of the energy and mineral resources minister no.1122 of  2002 had prompted PT Anggrek Mekar Sari and PT PLN for West Sumatra to resume their cooperation in the form of sales and purchase of renewable power-based electricity.

The decree prompted private businesses to produce electricity from renewable energy resources amidst fuel oil price hikes and with a view to cutting back on fossil raw material consumption.

The sales & purchase contract was carried out on August 8, 2005 with a construction period of two years.

Since August 2007, the electricity PT PLN has purchased from the PLTM reached 1,267,572 kWh worth Rp558.999 million. The operational cost of the PLTM was seen as low, because if the 1,267,572 kWh is produced by a diesel power plant, some  380 kiloliters of diesel oil worth Rp2.3 billion would be needed. ( ant )