State power utility PT PLN has confirmed its commitment to supporting the 8-percent economic growth target through the development of electricity infrastructure that will cater the needs of industry, new areas development, and remote regions.
The project was inaugurated at the Jatigede Hydropower Plant (PLTA) in Sumedang, West Java, on Monday, January 20, 2025. The project has a total capacity of 3,222.75 Megawatts (MW) with an investment value of Rp72 trillion (US$4.4 billion), apparently the largest electricity project in the world.
President Prabowo Subianto said while inaugurating the project that electricity supply from the power plants could mean that Indonesia is ready to become an industrial country.
The president believes that the availability of reliable, clean and affordable electricity supply will allow industry to grow rapidly and help alleviate poverty.
“We want to be a modern country, a developed country. We want to improve the welfare of the Indonesian people. We want to eliminate poverty from the land of Indonesia. For that, we need to become an industrial country,” Prabowo said.
A number of power plants, such as the 110 MW Jatigede Hydroelectric Power Plant in Sumedang, West Java; the 172 MW Asahan-3 Hydroelectric Power Plant in North Sumatra, and the 50 Megawatt Alternating Current (MWac) Solar Power Plant (PLTS) in the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) will become the backbone of electricity in their respective regions, which can ultimately encourage increased investment, the opening of new jobs, and the growth of community economic activities.
Meanwhile, 11 transmission and substation projects that have been operational will directly strengthen the reliability of electricity supply and support the acceleration of industrialization and downstreaming. They include the 150 kilovolt (kV) High Voltage Air Duct (SUTT) GI Kolaka – PT Antam Pomala with a length of 36.96 circuit kilometers (kms) and GI 150 kV Kolaka Ext which supplies electricity to the nickel processing industry.
