RI Needs IDR 226.58 Trillion Investment To Meet Smelter Electricity Needs In Sulawesi

Smelter electricity (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The government needs an investment of US$14 billion equivalent to Rp226.58 trillion (Rp16,184 per US dollar) to meet electricity needs in Sulawesi until 2030. The investment covers US$10.7 billion for power plants, US$2.3 billion for transmission and US$1 billion for substations.

Just so you know, the largest electricity demand in Sulawesi is for the electricity needs of smelters until 2030 which reached 11,139 MW.

"The need for a smelter plant currently reaches 20 gigawatts (GW) and is met through Steam Power Plants (PLTU). Now we will seek to provide clean energy for this and also as part of the energy transition," said Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif, Tuesday, August 6.

According to Arifin, smelters are industries that require great energy. Even in Sulawesi itself, a smelter area of only 4,500 hectares requires almost 7 GW of electrical energy.

"We will reduce the percentage of electricity supply for this smelter. Previously using coal, we will divert it by using gas," explained Arifin.

The allocation of gas, he said, would be obtained in the not too distant future, with the end of the natural gas contract Donggiapolo in 2027 of 337 MMSCFs being used for the new PLTGU Wellhead with a capacity of 1,800 MW.

There is also some potential for natural gas through piped gas from the ENI Muara Bakau Field in the Makassar Strait of 500 MMSCFD which can also be used to build a new PLTGU in Palu with a capacity of 2,650 MW.

Electricity from the two PLTGUs was then distributed through a 500 kV transmission to supply the Huadi cluster smelters in South Sulawesi, Pomala-Ceria (Poci) and Konawe-Morowali (Kemo) in Southeast Sulawesi.

"So, we plan the gas from here (kalimantan), hopefully, the Makassar Strait, we will pull the pipe, to Palu. Here we make a gas plant (Sulawesi), then pull the transmission. Here there is also LNG. The end of the 2027 Donggiapolo natural gas contract so far the LNG has been exported continuously, abroad. We ask for it later to be domestic. From here we will pull it again. From here, we will build a gas plant. Pull the network again so that this can support carbon reduction programs in smelter industries," explained Arifin.

Later, electricity from the two PLTGUs will then be distributed through a 500 kV transmission to supply the Huadi cluster smelters in South Sulawesi, Pomala-Ceria (Poci) and Konawe Morowali (Kemo) in Southeast Sulawesi.

"If the gas price for the two PLTGUs follows the HGBT of around US$6 per MMBTU and the toll fee for transmission of 3.88 cUSD/kWh with an electricity price of around 11 cUSD/kWh, then it is quite competitive," concluded Arifin.