OREANDA-NEWS. GE (NYSE: GE) today announced a multi-year agreement with PT Pembangkitan Jawa Bali (PJB), the largest subsidiary of Indonesia’s national power utility PT PLN, to design a Remote Engineering, Monitoring, Diagnostics and Optimization Centers (REMDOC) in Surabaya, which is expected to go live October 2017. The center will connect GE’s Asset Performance Management (APM), Operations Optimization (OO), Advanced Control Solutions and Baseline Security Center software applications across 21 sites with 10.7GW capacity. GE and PJB will explore opportunities to develop next-generation applications on GE’s Predix platform for future market opportunities.

“This is an important milestone for PJB as the industry is continuously pushed to improve efficiency to provide more reliable electricity in Indonesia,” said Iwan Agung Firstantara, President Director, PJB.  “Establishing the Remote Engineering, Monitoring, Diagnostics and Optimization Center will bolster our power generation efforts as we move to double our capacity to 22GW by 2022. This next generation digital-driven facility will help us to enhance our operations and management of remote sites.”

PJB’s agreement with GE will realize the potential of digital technology for energy across Indonesia and in other regions with challenging and remote geographic conditions.  With the first installation of APM, a Predix-based application, PJB can monitor and analyze data drawn from thousands of sensors throughout each power plant to better predict and prevent outages before they happen, increasing the reliability of power supply. The OO solutions help to optimize the performance of power generation factors such as capacity, emissions, flexibility and availability or efficiency of PJB’s sites. Advanced Control Solutions will leverage data and analytics to manage grid stability, fuel variability, emissions, compliance and other challenges that impact machine performance. The Baseline Security Center will increase operational security for power producers, offering a set of tools, configurations, and services focused on reducing cyber security risk across the Electricity Value Network (EVN).

“PJB is leading Indonesia’s digital industrial evolution by applying software to improve reliability, efficiency, and overall capacity across the entire Electricity Value Network, from generation to consumption,” said Maher Chebbo, chief officer of GE Digital Power. “PJB’s vision can serve as a model for regions with remote generation challenges and as an example of innovation to modernize the energy industry.”

Beyond digitizing power plants, the partnership highlights the ability of PJB to monitor, diagnose and optimize its remote sites, and have a centralized view of operations and engineering capabilities to push knowledge back to its facilities for greater productivity. The cloud solution will be implemented over the next 18 months, with the first site expected to go live by the end of 2017. REMDOC will be established in Surabaya by the end of 2017. In addition, GE will provide Managed Services for a three-year period to encourage local skill-building and talent development in Indonesia, with the goal to hand over monitoring and diagnostics to PJB – a first global collaboration for GE. 

“Indonesia’s energy sector is undergoing a transformational period to meet the increasing demand of electricity,” said Handry Satriago, CEO GE Indonesia. “The deployment of our digital solutions is a quantum-leap in the industry to significantly increase the efficiency and reliability of electricity supply in Indonesia.”

*Predix is a trademark of General Electric Company