ABB inks deal with Indonesia's PLN to boost Java-Bali T&D networks

Substation extensions are covered in the deal.

ABB will support the Indonesian state-owned utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) to strengthen reliability and enhance the efficiency of its Java-Bali transmission and distribution networks and meet the growing demand for power in Java, the most populated island on earth. 

With more than twice the population of the island of Great Britain, Java is home to over 140 million people with a population density of 1,121 per km2, and accounts for more than half the Indonesian population. The island includes the megacity of Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital and the heart of the country’s economic growth. The $11 million order from PLN to extend existing substations across Indonesia was booked in the first quarter of 2016.

Power shortages are expected to increase with Indonesia’s economic growth and as the country’s middle class expands. According to a report by The Economist, electricity demand is expected to rise annually by around nine percent over the next decade. PLN is targeting a country electrification rate of over 95 percent by 2020 and has ambitious plans to provide an additional 35,000 megawatts (MW) of power supply by 2019.

ABB will design, engineer, supply and install the substation extensions, including switchgear, transformers, state-of-the-art control and protection systems as well as ancillary equipment. The product scope will include 11 units of 60 megavolt-ampere (MVA) transformers, high-voltage air-insulated switchgear for eight substations, high-voltage gas-insulated switchgear for one substation as well as the replacement works and control systems for uprating the transformers in three other substations. Financed by the Asian Development Bank, the project is scheduled to be completed in 2017.

“We are pleased to support PLN in their efforts to strengthen the power infrastructure in Indonesia and enhance electricity supplies. ABB’s proven track record for managing complex projects and our leading-edge technologies will help us to deliver customer value,” said Claudio Facchin, president of ABB’s Power Grids division. “This project supports our Next Level strategy focus on growing and emerging economies like Indonesia where we have a long standing presence including manufacturing.”