Indonesia’s PLN sees coal demand trebling by 2010

Indonesia’s state electricity firm, PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), said on Monday it expects its coal consumption to more than treble in the next two years as it works to reduce its reliance on oil.

The expected surge in domestic demand from Indonesia, the world’s biggest thermal coal exporter, has worried traders who fear Jakarta might seek to restrict exports in order to keep supplies at home, although officials have said this won’t happen.
In material presented at the Coaltrans Asia Conference in Bali, PLN said that the use of coal needed to generate electricity will rise to 43.8 million tonnes in 2009, up from a forecast of 24.5 million tonnes in 2008.

It will hit 83.5 million tonnes by 2010, it said.

The increased demand will come from both new generators as well Indonesia’s effort to cut the share of oil in its energy mix to 20 percent by 2025, from around 50 percent currently. It expects the share of coal to double to 30 percent.

By 2010, Indonesia expects to have added some 10,000 megawatts of new power-generating capacity, requiring an extra 32 million tonnes a year alone.

Reuters