ASIATODAY.ID, KOLAKA – The Indonesian State Electricity Company, PT PLN (Persero) succeeded in carrying out the “energize” or first ignition of the transmission connecting PLN’s Kolaka 150 kiloVolt (kV) main substation with the PT Ceria Nugraha Indotama (Ceria Group) main substation.
The transmission start-up for PT Ceria’s nickel smelter operations on Saturday, July 6 is clear evidence of PLN’s support for mineral downstreaming in Indonesia.
PLN President Director Darmawan Prasodjo emphasized PLN’s commitment to supporting mineral downstream efforts by providing a reliable electricity supply. This is because the availability of electricity supply plays an important role in supporting industrial growth, especially the mining sector.
“PLN fully supports downstream efforts to increase the added value of mining commodities, by providing reliable electricity. Because, a reliable electricity supply has a crucial role in supporting downstreaming which the Government is currently intensifying,” said Darmawan, quoted Thursday, July 18 2024.
The President Director of PT Ceria Metalindo Prima (CMP), which is part of the Ceria Group, Derian Sakmiwata, appreciated PLN for successfully starting the electrical power connection work to GI Ceria. This ignition will further strengthen Ceria Group’s industrial growth.
“We hope that this good performance and coordination can continue so that it will have a positive impact on the growth of the nickel smelter industry as one of the supports for the electric vehicle ecosystem,” he said.
Derian explained that the construction of the CMP smelter using Rotary Kiln Electric Furnace (RKEF) technology was carried out in stages with four production lines with a capacity of 4 X 72 Megavolt Ampere (MVA). In the initial stage, said Derian, a production line with a capacity of 72 MVA was built to process Saprolite nickel ore.
“We entrust the electricity supply needs to PLN. The plan is that the smelter’s electricity capacity of 414 MVA will begin to be distributed gradually this year,” said Derian.
Daily Acting General Manager of PLN Sulawesi Main Development Unit, Senior Manager of Construction Operations (OPK) 1, Budi Ari Wibowo, said that this ignition is a concrete manifestation of PLN’s readiness to fully support the downstreaming and acceleration of electric vehicle battery production in Indonesia.
PLN is here to provide reliable and affordable electricity supply for the Ceria Group or CMP smelter GI which is approximately 5.8 kilometers from PLN’s Kolaka 150 kV GI.
“Hopefully this success can expedite future work plans because Energize is the initial stage of connecting electricity to high voltage consumer customers,” he said.
Budi added that in accordance with the Electricity Sales and Purchase Agreement (PJBTL) agreed upon by PLN and PT CMP, in the initial stage PLN will supply 118 MVA of power, from the planned total electricity capacity requirement for the Ceria smelter of 414 MVA for the operational needs of the nickel smelter in Wolo District, Kolaka Regency. (ATN)
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