PLN Is Optimistic Of The IDR 5 Trillion PLTA Asahan III Project Will Operate In 2024

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - PT PLN (Persero) is optimistic that the IDR 5 trillion hydroelectric power plant (PLTA) Asahan III, North Sumatra, will operate in 2024, so that it can support the government's efforts to accelerate the national energy transition through the use of clean electricity.

General Manager of PLN's North Sumatra Development Main Unit (UIP), Octavianus Padudung, said that the operation of the cooperation project between Japan and Indonesia will strengthen the reliability of electricity supply in North Sumatra.

"If this mega project is completed, it will produce 174 megawatts of power and other advantages are that the hydropower plant is very efficient and environmentally friendly," he said in a written statement, quoted from Antara, Thursday, December 2.

Located in Asahan Regency and Toba Regency, North Sumatra, PLTA Asahan III is one of the national strategic projects that will support the reliability of North Sumatra's electricity system.

"With the additional power supply, we are more ready to welcome investors who want to build an industry in North Sumatra," said Octavianus.

This year, PLN started construction of the Asahan River and it has been successfully transferred to a river diversion channel, so that the construction of an intake weir can be implemented immediately.

Meanwhile, on the downstream side, the excavation work for the underground power house, which began in June 2020, has been declared complete in May 2021.

The power house is the main building where the turbine and generator operate and is underground at a depth of approximately 150 meters.

The overall underground tunnel work has been accomplished for 3.8 kilometers out of a total of 7.8 kilometers.

With the completion of the power house excavation process, one of the critical stages in the construction of the Asahan III HEPP project has been successfully passed.

Octavianus explained that this technology not only makes the generator more reliable but also more efficient.

"Of course, the operation of this plant can also reduce the basic cost of providing electricity in North Sumatra, as well as improve PLN's services to consumers by providing more reliable and efficient electrical energy," he explained.

Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Kenji Kanasugi visited PLTA Asahan III. The visit was to see the progress of the cooperation project between Japan and Indonesia in accelerating clean energy in Indonesia.

Currently, the Asahan III hydropower project is being worked on by Shimizu Adhikarya Join Operation. The hydropower plant with a capacity of 2 x 87 megawatts is planned to start operating in 2024.

Kenji said he was amazed by the progress of the hydropower development as a form of the commitment of the two countries to pass on clean energy and achieve carbon neutrality in the future.

"The Asahan III hydropower project is one of the important projects related to bilateral relations between Indonesia and Japan. Therefore, we deliberately came here to provide support for its completion," said Kenji.