Tanzania, Indonesian firm explore electricity development collaboration

President Director of Indonesian state-run electricity provider PT PLN, Darmawan Prasodjo, has welcomed an invitation by the Tanzanian government to build an electricity system in the East African region.

PLN sees potential business opportunities that can be developed with stakeholders in Tanzania, according to a statement received on Saturday.

The PLN president director received a visit from Energy Minister of Tanzania, January Makamba on February 10, 2023.

This is not the first time that the company will collaborate with international parties, both in investment and electricity grid construction, he noted. PLN has earlier cooperated with stakeholders in China, Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea, he added.

Besides Southeast and East Asian countries, PLN has also collaborated with Middle Eastern countries, as seen in the operation and maintenance cooperation between PLN Indonesia Power and the Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy Ministry of Kuwait.

Meanwhile, PLN Nusantara Power has entered into investment cooperation with a company from the United Arab Emirates, Masdar, for the development of new and renewable energy at Cirata floating solar panel plant.

According to Prasodjo, PLN is currently transforming its business, thus it will not only develop the electricity system, but also manage its existing assets outside the electricity sector.

“With this transformation, PLN will become more agile in developing its business portfolio. The sub-holdings and subsidiaries are much more flexible in expanding their markets and cooperations,” he said.

Meanwhile, Makamba said that Tanzania is committed to supporting global emission reductions.

Considering current economic and investment growth in Tanzania, the region needs reliable electricity supply, he added.

“PLN’s track record has been well-known. It makes us confident that PLN has the capability to provide us with reliable electricity,” he said.

The clean energy development and digital transformation carried out by PLN were a strong reason for Tanzania to choose it as a partner in developing electricity in the East African region, the Tanzanian minister noted.

According to him, Tanzania has water and geothermal resources, which have the potential to be developed as sources of energy for power plants.

“PLN has competence in these two sectors (water and geothermal resources). We believe PLN can help us regarding this matter,” he added.

Source: Antara