Freeloaders short-circuit PLN to tune of Rp 7b<\/p>\n
Nana Rukmana, Cirebon, West Java<\/p>\n
Around 64,000 electricity customers in the State Electricity
\nCompany (PLN)'s Cirebon district have not paid their bills for
\nthe past three months and, as a consequence, the power utility
\nhas found itself shortchanged to the tune of around Rp 7 billion
\n(US$850,000).<\/p>\n
\"The length of the arrears varies from one month to three
\nmonths,\" Cirebon district general manager Muchdi Yasin told The
\nJakarta Post in Cirebon, West Java.<\/p>\n
Muchdi said that if customers failed to pay arrears dating
\nback more than three months, PLN would be compelled to cut off
\ntheir power.<\/p>\n
\"We will inform our customers directly before we disconnect
\nthem. If they don't come up with an adequate response, we will be
\nforced to cut them off,\" he said recently.<\/p>\n
Non-paying customers account for around 9 percent of the total
\nnumber of customers in Cirebon district, which encompasses
\nKuningan, Indramayu and Cirebon regencies, as well as Cirebon
\nmunicipality, he said.<\/p>\n
Of the Rp 7 billion in arrears, he added, Rp 1.3 billion was
\nowed by three ice plants in Indramayu regency.<\/p>\n
\"We have cut off their power supplies as they failed to act in
\ngood faith as regards settling their bills. We told them what we
\nwere going to do, but they still wouldn't pay up,\" said Muchdi.<\/p>\n
However, he declined to name the three ice plants. \"It would
\nbe unethical for me to give you their names. But you may rest
\nassured, they were in arrears to the tune of Rp 1.3 billion,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The Rp 7 billion owed to PLN Cirebon accounts for around 10
\npercent of its average annual revenue of Rp 70 billion, Muchdi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He also explained that the level of electricity abstraction in
\nthe area was quite high, which also inflicted losses of billions
\nof rupiah on PLN. To overcome the problem of abstraction, the
\ncompany would investigate anyone whom they suspected of being
\ninvolved.<\/p>\n
This would be undertaken in collaboration with the police.<\/p>\n
\"We have asked those who have stolen electricity to pay for
\nwhat they have stolen,\" he said, adding that most electricity
\nabstraction was the work of domestic consumers. \"They usually
\ntamper with the meters installed in their homes,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, to meet the high demand for new connections,
\nCirebon PLN will construct 60 new substations, each with a
\ncapacity of 400 kilovolt amperes (KVA), which will allow the
\nconnection of around 60,000 new customers.<\/p>\n
Currently, PLN has some 850,000 customers in Cirebon district.<\/p>\n
The construction of the new substations is badly needed as
\nmore than half of its existing 2,860 substations are overloaded.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/freeloaders-short-circuit-pln-to-tune-of-rp-7b-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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