Grid Automation Energizes 150kV Substation in remote Kalimantan during Covid-19 pandemic

Puruk Cahu Substation is a new facility of PT PLN (Persero), Indonesia’s state electricity company, located at Murung Raya Regency, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, more than 500 km from Banjarbaru, Syamsuddin Noor International Airport in Banjarmasin, the capital city. To get there, you need to spend a challenging journey of approximately 12,5-hour interprovincial road trip with many long-haul trucks, which is quite undertaking whereby driver need to be careful and need to be in queue when crossing the construction of the nearby coal mining area. It is even more challenging and difficult to get there, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The government imposed a large-scale social restriction (PSBB) in all areas of Indonesia to curb the spread of Covid-19, making it harder for people to travel and specifically for ABB Power Grids Indonesia team to pursue site activities outside Jakarta.

Nonetheless, during this Covid-19 lockdown period, it did not stop the PGGA team from working closely with PT PLN (Persero) to deliver the job. The team took the initiative by conducting online supervision to PLN for the first phase of installation and commissioning which was carried out on June 29, 2020.

When social restrictions easing up, the PGGA team to travel to the remote site. Transportation of manpower and materials were quite challenging due to difficulty in travel and road conditions, in addition to maintaining health and safety. The team braved the journey to Puruk Cahu and began to work on June 29 for 2 months on the second phase of installation and commissioning. They worked long hours to complete commissioning of the substation and conducted automation task, enabling evacuation energy from PLN’s 8 MW power plant for its premium gold mining customer. This initiative was in line with the government’s direction in reducing diesel type of plants which traditionally used in mining and remote areas. Substation Puruk Cahu and implemented state of art automation also improved the reliability and capacity of PLN’s electricity distribution in Central Kalimantan.

On August 28, the PGGA team Indonesia successfully completed and delivered a top-notch performance; given the remoteness of the locations and the lockdown period, they managed to engineer, supply, install and commission a Substation Automation System (SAS), Control & Protection Panels, Telecommunication systems and MicroSCADA amid Covid-19 pandemic. The system will help automate and monitor the substations including its protection devices.This advanced 150 kV Puruk Cahu Substation has 4 line bays, 1 transformer bay and 1 coupler bay.

Congratulations to the team for their tireless efforts, strong collaboration and commitment to the customer!