State electricity firm PLN has estimated that the coal use for electricity generation in Indonesia will increase by around 12 percent this year due to additional demand from new power plants.

PLN system planning manager Arief Sugiyanto said in Jakarta on Thursday that two new coal-fired power plants (PLTUs), namely the Jawa 7 and Jawa 8 power plants, which have a combined capacity of 2 gigawatts, would start their commercial operation in September, this year.

PLN has estimated that the power sector’s coal use, including power plants operated by the private sector, would increase by 12.37 percent to 109 million tons in 2020.

“Overall, demand for gas will drop next year but demand for coal will increase due to additional demand from new PLTUs,” he said at a gas exhibition event in Jakarta.

The total gas demand is projected to fall by 5.6 percent to 486 billion cubic feet (bcf). However, the demand for LNG is expected to increase by 22 percent to 221 bcf, while the demand for piped gas will fall by 20 percent to only 262 bcf due to, among other factors, low supply from the South Sumatra-West Java Pipeline.

Source: The Jakarta Post