Sahala Turnip
PT PLN
(Persero)
Indonesia
T.H. Lo
Sarawak
Energy Berhad
Malaysia
J.H. Kueh
Sarawak
Energy Berhad
Malaysia
SUMMARY
Sarawak-West Kalimantan 275kV Transmission Line Interconnection Project is an integral
part of the efforts by ASEAN utilities to interconnect their electricity grids in the region. It is
the first major interconnection project in the island of Borneo. This paper outlines the
motivation behind this project, evaluation of the design, project specifications,
implementation and provide updates of the current status. The project is expected to be
operational by the end of 2015.
KEYWORDS
Sarawak-West Kalimantan Interconnection, ASEAN Utilities, AC Transmission.
lesliechai@sarawakenergy.com.my
1. INTRODUCTION
The Sarawak-West Kalimantan interconnection is a cross-border High Voltage Alternating
Current (HVAC) connection between the power systems of Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB)
and PT Perusahaan Listik Negara (PERSERO), located on the west side of Borneo Island (see
Fig. 1).
This project is part of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Interconnection
Master Plan (AIM) to establish an interconnected grid among ASEAN countries for system
security, flexibility and reliability. Besides these operational benefits, the project can also
generate significant international and geo-political interests in the context of regional
cooperation [1]. This could provide opportunities to facilitate economic collaboration and
technical protocols in aid of other future conceptually planned interconnections within the
ASEAN region.
Intrinsically, the interconnection is the pioneer project linking two power utilities in the island
of Borneo with power transfer of up to 230MW to PLN West Kalimantan from the Sarawak
Grid. Such power trading opportunities empower PLN West Kalimantan to plan for its
generation development using economical resources whereby avoid running existing
expensive diesel and fuel oil generation plants which over the time could be in the position to
supply back to Sarawak [2].
In this paper, a comprehensive background information and motivation drivers behind the
project will first be discussed followed by evaluation of the design parameters, technical
specifications and basic scopes of the interconnection systems. The paper then gives updates
on the project implementation progress, current status and expected conclusion of this project.
During the initial phase of the PEA, PLN will be importing power from SEB with the
quantum of 50MW at base demand and 230MW at peak demand. It is believed that the
interconnector can serve as a catalyst for achieving the APG vision by encouraging other
inter-Borneo links while spurring the development of integrated trans-national connected
power systems.
3. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS AND DESIGN PARAMETERS OF THE
PROJECT
Technical Specifications of the Interconnectors Transmission Lines
The Sarawak-West Kalimantan interconnection is a HVAC link connecting two systems at the
Mambong 275kV substation in Sarawak to Bengkayang 275kV substation in West
Kalimantan through a double circuit 275kV transmission line at a system frequency of 50Hz.
This project required the extension of two feeder bays at the existing 275kV Mambong
Substation in Kuching. From there a new 275kV transmission line is being constructed to
connect to a new 275/150kV Bengkayang Substation in West Kalimantan. This cross border
transmission line has a total length of 128.2km of which 35.57% is in Sarawak and the
remaining 64.43% lies in West Kalimantan [5] (See Fig. 2). The tower design is a typical
design similar to the existing design used in the SEB power system (See Fig. 3). While the
basic line parameters are comparable between the two power systems, the differences are
tabulated in Table 1 below. Both Table 1 and Fig. 3 were taken from the Planning and
Development System Study Final Report in [5].
Table 1: Comparison on basic line design practices between PLN and Sarawak Energy
Berhad
Description
Line Conductor
Conductor type/name
No. and diameter of Al wire
No. and diameter of St wire
Overall diameter
Cross-section
Resistance (DC at 20C)
Breaking load
Weight
Ground/Earth Wire
Ground wire type
No. and diameter of Al wire
No. and diameter of St wire
Overall diameter
Cross-section
Resistance (DC at 20C)
Breaking load
Weight
Tower Design Parameters
PLN
SEB
ACSR/AS Zebra
54/3.18
7/3.18
28.62 mm
428.9/55.6 mm
0.065 /km
137.8 kN
1,621 kg/km
ACSR Drake
26/4.44
7/3.45
28.11 mm
402/65 mm
0.072 /km
145 kN
1,680 kg/km
AS 95
19/2.5
12.5 mm
93.27 mm
0.925 /km
121.39 kN
626 kg/km
ACSR Skunk
12/2.6
7/2.6
12.95 mm
63/37 mm
0.567 /km
53 kN
490 kg/km
4
Description
Tower height
Clearance open country
Clearance over plantations
Clearance to highway, roads
Clearance to other lines
Basic span
Insulators
Communication link
Surge arresters
Cross arm Cross arm
Cross arm tower body
Conductor to ground
Clearance
Right of way
PLN
SEB
50.4 m
10.5 m
7m
11 m
5m
400 m
Cap and pin
OPGW
Class 3
>7.4m
~6.9m
35 to 37 m
7.5 m
4m
9m
4m
350 m
Cap and pin
OPGW
Class 3
>6.8m
~6m
~15m
~10m
Moreover, SEB also adopted differential insulation for its transmission line where circuit 1 is
low and circuit 2 is high as follows:i)
Circuit 1 has 18 numbers of insulation discs with Basic Insulation Level (BIL) of
approximately 1200kV;
ii) Circuit 2 has 20 numbers of insulation discs with Basic Insulation Level (BIL) of
approximately 1600kV.
As PLN does not have such practice, the numbers of insulation discs remain at 18 numbers
for both circuits.
Fig. 3: Typical 275kV lattice tower design used in existing SEB power systems
Technical Specification of the Interconnectors Substations
The basic technical specifications and design parameters of the two interconnected
substations in SEB and PLN system are summarized and tabulated in Table 2. They are
extracted from [5].
Table 2: Basic scope and design of Mambong and Bengyakang 275kV substations
Basic Substation Design Parameters
1. Number of bays required
2. Bay type
3. Switchgear type
4. Environment
5. Busbar configuration
6. Busbar rating, A
7. Circuit breaker rating, A
8. Circuit breaker short-circuit rating, kA
9. Busbar short-circuit rating, kA
10.Maximum voltage for equipment, kV
11.Short-duration power frequency withstand, kV
Mambong
Substation
2 (extension)
Line
Outdoor
Heavy Pollution
Double
2000
2500
25 (3 sec.)
25 (3 sec.)
300
460
Bengkayang
Substation
2
Line
Outdoor (1
circuit-breaker
scheme)
Heavy Pollution
Double
1600
2500*
25 (3 sec.)
25 (3 sec.)
300
460
6
Mambong
Substation
850/1050
4800
3x5MVAr
TBA
Bengkayang
Substation
850/1050
4800
3x5MVAr
In addition to Table 2, there is a plan to install 275kV shunt capacitor banks at Mambong
substation with capacity of 240MVAR and 280MVAR while another 320MVAR capacity
of shunt capacitor banks will being installed at 132kV.
On the PLN West Kalimantan side, shunt capacitor banks are planned to be installed at
various 150kV substations including Singkawang 150kV substation in the year 2016 and Sei
Raya 150kV substation in the year 2017 each with a capacity of 125MVAR to be switched
on during maximum load [5].
As for the interconnection protection and control scheme, it was mutually agreed for both
PLN West Kalimantan and SEB to employ one current differential and one distance
protection for each circuit as below:i) Main 1: Current Differential (with backup of distance protection);
ii) Main 2: Distance Protection.
4. CURRENT PROJECT STATUS AND UPDATES
Current Project Status
The interconnector is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2015 supplying 50MW of
power to PLN West Kalimantan from SEB initially.
In due course, SEB will be exporting 230MW power to PLN West Kalimantan during peak,
upon majority completion of SEBs 500kV backbone transmission line projects sometime in
2016. The SEB 500kV transmission line backbone is a high voltage transmission system
extending over 500 kilometers from Similajau in Bintulu to Tondong in Kuching. It is a
system reinforcement project supporting the future development of its generation system and
to provide adequate security of supply to cater for its electricity demand growth. Due to the
rapid growth in demand and consumption in Sarawak, this added transmission capacity will
further strengthen the network especially towards Kuching.
Table 3 shows the work progress for Mambong substation extension and transmission line
works in Sarawak whereas Table 4 shows the work progress for Bengkayang substation and
transmission line works in PLN West Kalimantan.
Table 3: Sarawak-West Kalimantan Interconnector substation and line progress in Sarawak
updated as at June 2015
Sarawak
Mambong 275/132kV Substation Extension
Transmission Line
Completion
78%*
98%
Expected Completion
Quarter 3, 2015
Quarter 3, 2015
Table 4: Sarawak-West Kalimantan Interconnector substation and line progress in PLN West
Kalimantan updated as at May 2015
PLN West Kalimantan
Bengkayang 275/150kV Substation
Transmission Line