Increase Electricity Supply to the Community to Support Sustainable Development by Minimizing House Load in Geothermal Power Plant

Recently, electricity consumption in Indonesia continue to increase rapidly along with the increase in development, economic growth and also the increase in the population. One potential source of electrical energy comes from geothermal energy, where Indonesia has enormous potential. According to data from the Geological Agency, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, until the end of 2016 there were at least 331 geothermal energy source locations throughout Indonesia, where most of the potential was on a volcanic track with a potential of 28,579 MW and this is the largest geothermal energy in the world. In its operation, power plants need energy to supply their own needs (house load) which amounts up to 10 % of the electrical energy produced. Own electricity needs are used to drive brine and condensate pumps, fan drive motors in cooling towers, lamps and electronic appliances in well pad and offices. The use of this energy can be minimized to increase electricity production which is distributed to users. The methodology used in this research is lean sigma process through the Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve (DMAI) steps. The first step is to define the problems regarding opportunity from electricity use for own needs that can be saved and constraints faced, the next step is to measure the electrical usage as baseline data, then analyze to find the causes of inefficiencies in electricity use and the last make improvement programs. From a case study conducted at the Gunung Salak geothermal power plant in West Java, the energy efficiency of house load can be minimized by up to 7.5%-10% in 2018-2019. Greater energy supply to the community will have an impact on improving the economy of the community to support production activities that require electrical energy.