Not all power plants are the same, either in purpose or in how they are operated. In the electric utility industry, there are three main types of power plants, categorized according to the functions they perform. These are called “base,” “intermediate” and “peaking” facilities.
Electric utilities really need all three types of generating plants to make sure that they can adequately meet the needs of their customers. In the coming years, PLN will have contracted coal fired based load plants under the 10,000MW crash program. Due to the pattern of which PLN consumers use electricity, it will need to have all three types of plant including intermediate and peaking plants to meet the growing demand for power primarily during those peak hours such as hours from 5pm to 10 pm.
Base Plants or Commonly Known As Baseload Plants Base power plants represent the backbone of the power supply system. These facilities are built for economy, reliability and durability rather than speed. Like their name implies, base plants are designed to provide the constant base of power that is needed around the clock and throughout the year. It takes time to bring them up to full power and shut them down again, and they generally operate year-round, except during maintenance periods.
Intermediate Plants Like base plants, intermediate facilities can operate for extended periods at a time but generally don’t run all of the time.
Peaking Plants Peaking plants, a third category, operate primarily during times when power use is at its peak — for example, on a hot afternoons when air conditioning causes electricity usage to reach its highest levels. Peaking plants are often powered by natural gas, but they can also be powered by water at hydroelectric dams or by fuel oil.
These plants can be brought online quickly to meet the rapidly increasing demand for power on hot afternoon days, and can then be taken offline quickly as power demand diminishes in the evening.
Base Plants or Commonly Known As Baseload Plants