Indonesia's state-run electricity utility PT PLN (Perusahaan Listrik Negara) has outlined plans to commission an additional 4,000 MW power generation capacity in 2019, most of which will be coal-fired and the remainder either gas-fired or renewable.
PT PLN's 4,000 MW capacity addition objective fits into the framework the 35,000 MW capacity addition programme, which was set back in 2015. Initially slated for completion in 2019, it has been pushed back as only 2,800 MW were operational at the end of December 2018 (approximately 8% of the total planned capacity). In addition, around 18,000 MW are under construction, of which roughly one third is being developed by the state-run power utility PT PLN and two thirds by private developers. The remainder is still in the planning and procurement stages: 33% of the projects are still awaiting environmental permits and acquiring land, while 5% have reached the procurement phase.
According to the government forecasts, domestic electricity demand is set to grow by an average 6.4%/year between 2019 and 2028. Yet, the gradual completion of the 35,000 MW programme over the next decade would help the country to cope with this significant increase. The Ministry of Energy expects coal to cover 54.6% of the Indonesian energy mix by 2025, followed by renewables (23%), gas (22%) and fuel.
General elections will be held in April 2019 and the opposition candidate intends to revamp the 35,000 MW programme, to reduce the share of coal in the power mix and to replace several domestic coal-fired power plant projects with renewable energy installations.