State electricity company PT PLN energizes the first transmission line connecting its 150 kiloVolt (kV) Kolaka Substation in Kolaka regency, Southeast Sulawesi, with the substation of PT nickel mining company PT Ceria Nugraha Indotama (CNI), part of the Ceria Group.
PLN President Director Darmawan Prasodjo emphasized PLN’s commitment to support mineral downstreaming efforts by providing reliable electricity supply as the availability of electricity supply plays an important role in supporting industrial growth, especially the mining sector.
“Reliable electricity supply has a crucial role in supporting downstreaming which is being intensified by the current government,” Darmawan said as quoted on July 15, 2024.
President Director of PT Ceria Metalindo Prima (CMP), which is part of the Ceria Group, Derian Sakmiwata appreciated PLN for turning on the power connection work to Ceria Substation. The switch-on will further strengthen Ceria Group’s industrial growth.
“We hope that this good performance and coordination can continue so that it will have a good impact on the growth of the nickel smelter industry as one of the supports for the electric vehicle ecosystem,” Derian said.
Derian cited 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, one production line with a capacity of 72 MVA was built to process Saprolite nickel ore.
“For electricity supply needs, we entrust it to PLN, the plan is that the smelter’s electricity capacity needs of 414 MVA will begin to be flowed gradually this year,” he said.
Acting General Manager for PLN’s Sulawesi region, Budi Ari Wibowo, said PLN provides a reliable and affordable electricity supply for the Ceria Group or CMP smelter Substation which is some 5.8 kilometers away from PLN’s 150 kV Kolaka Substation.
“Hopefully this success can expedite future work plans because this energization is the initial stage of connecting electricity to high-voltage consumer customers (KTT),” Budi said.
He added that in accordance with the Power Purchase Agreement (PJBTL) agreed by PLN and PT CMP, in the initial stage PLN will supply 118 MVA of power, from the planned total electricity capacity requirement of the Ceria smelter of 414 MVA for the operational purposes of refining the nickel smelter in Wolo District, Kolaka regency.
