SKS Listrik Kalimantan recognised at Asian Management Excellence Awards 2026 for electricity grid transformation

The team’s success rested on the optimisation of the existing Fast Cut Back logic, whilst developing key innovations.

SKS Listrik Kalimantan (SLK) won the Indonesia Team of the Year - Energy at the Asian Management Excellence Awards 2026 for its team’s success in spearheading a transformative effort to strengthen the reliability and stability of the Kalimantan interconnection electricity system.

Prior to the project, the grid had already been marred with rapid load growth, a mostly radial and disturbance-prone network, and strict availability targets. The most critical vulnerability threatening grid stability has been the low success rate of the House Load (HL) operation, the power plant’s primary defence mechanism to remain energised when disconnected from the grid. In 2021, SLK’s operation success rate was only 50%, which placed the grid at high risk of a widespread blackout with every major disturbance.

To address this, the team re-engineered the HL mechanism by optimising the Fast Cut Back logic in its steam power plant units. Through key innovations such as a 1.5-second critical delay and a 7% load reference set point, the team has enabled automatic, smooth transitions to HL mode during disturbances.

This in-depth technical optimisation proved capable of automatically and smoothly triggering the HL mode during disturbances, making the unit resilient during crises.

This achievement, according to the company, positions the SLK Team as a benchmark for operational excellence and earns them regional, national, and international recognition for successfully transforming a significant operational weakness into absolute operational superiority.

“The team’s innovation in optimising operations and their collaborative spirit not only protects the power plant’s assets but also makes a vital contribution to regional energy stability, positioning SLK as a model for modern, reliable power plant operation and a vital contributor to the realisation of a self-healing grid vision and society in Indonesia,” it said.

The Asian Management Excellence Awards celebrates the finest business leaders, innovators, and companies in Asia, recognising exceptional achievements in employee engagement programmes, diversity and inclusion projects, and health and wellness initiatives.

The Asian Management Excellence Awards is presented by Asian Business Review Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2027 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's employee engagements and management initiatives, please contact Danica Avila at [email protected].