Pangkalpinang – Since March 26, 2022, the state-owned energy supplier PT PLN (Persero) has been undertaking a trial operation of an undersea cable linking the Sumatra and Bangka islands, with no serious complications so far.
“We expect that the operation of this enhanced interconnection system will allow investment activities and assist boost the energy supply to Bangka Island to 200 megawatts (MW),” said Amris Adnan, General Manager of PLN’s Parent Unit in Bangka Belitung Islands (Babel) Province on Tuesday.
Furthermore, he stated that he expects the new approach will assist the community in doing their Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr prayers in a peaceful and serious manner.
“People do not need to worry since they have been supported by increasingly reliable electricity conditions with sufficient power reserves,” he remarked.
The Sumatra-Bangka interconnection system is now delivering 150 kilovolts (kV) of energy, which is projected to minimize the need of oil-fired power plants on Bangka Island.
Wiluyo Kusdwiharto, PT PLN’s director of megaprojects and new and renewable energy, stated that all stages of the electrical infrastructure operation were completed satisfactorily.
The functioning of the underwater electrical cable is also projected to meet the future increase in electricity demand and improve the quality of the enterprise’s services.
Bangka Island is one of Indonesia’s regions with the highest rate of power growth. In the previous three years, the region’s average power sales increase has been 8.52 percent.
The growth of the fishery, palm oil processing, quartz sand, tin ore smelting, and tourist sectors has contributed to the increase.
Previously, energy was provided to Bangka Island by a variety of power facilities, the majority of which were oil-fired power plants with a peak load of 190.2 MW.
At the time, the region’s entire power reserve was barely 1.3 MW.
The power reserve on Bangka Island has now grown to 281 MW as a result of the new hookup.
