State-owned power utility firm PLN is waiting for the government to issue a policy on when a nuclear power plant could be used to produce electricity, a PLN official said.

PLN`s Planning and Technology Director Nasri Sebayang said here on Wednesday PLN had not yet included a nuclear power plant as a power generator in its Power Distribution General Plan (RUPTL) for the period 2009-2018.

“The RUPTL is arranged based on the National Power Master Plan (RUKN) for 2008 – 2025 which does not either included any plan to develop a nuclear power plant,” he said.

However, Nasri said, the PLN would continue to carry out research on the use of nuclear energy as a power generator and to follow the developments of nuclear power plant (PLTN) technology.

He said that the availability, projection, technical and economic aspects needed to be taken into account in planning the use of a PLTN project.

“Calculations on the social and political aspects as well its security matters also needed to be made,” he added.

In the meantime nuclear expert Sutaryo Supadi said that actually the government had included a consideration to build a nuclear energy plant in its RUKN in 2007.

But in 2008, the consideration was eliminated in the RUKN and in PLN`s RUPTL concept.

He said that virtually, based on Law No. 17/2007 On the National Long-Term Development Plan (RJPN), a nuclear power plant was expected to be already operated in the period between 2015 abd 2019.

“Thus, based on the law, the construction of a nuclear power plant should have been started this year,” he said.

Sutaryo added that the government needed to form a national team which was in charge of preparing a plan and a program for the development of a nuclear power plant.

Source: Antara