More accurate meter readings to be introduced<\/p>\n
Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
State-owned power company PT PLN has acknowledged that
\nelectricity meter readings are often incorrect and give rise to
\nunreasonable bills. It plans to implement a new system, but has
\nwarned that customers may face high bills as a result of arrears
\nand unpaid usage as a consequence.<\/p>\n
"There will be a 'booming' of bills," Fahmi Mochtar, the
\ngeneral manager of the firm's Jakarta and Tangerang branch, said
\non Saturday.<\/p>\n
It is public knowledge that meter readers often skip house
\nvisits and simply estimate electricity usage.<\/p>\n
Such abuses were discussed during a forum held by the
\nIndonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) together with PLN, the
\nJakarta Public Lighting Agency, the city police, observers and
\nconsumers.<\/p>\n
Wardi Lubis, a resident of Kemang Pratama, Bekasi, said that
\nhe only had to pay the monthly subscription fee in August, with
\nzero usage of electricity. "Suddenly the next month my bill was
\nRp 914,000 (US$99.73)," said Lubis.<\/p>\n
He produced several other bills showing that he paid Rp
\n219,000 in May, Rp 589,000 in June and Rp 160,000 in July. "How
\ncan my bill fluctuate like this when my family always uses the
\nsame amount of electricity?"<\/p>\n
Fahmi said that during October, a bar code would be placed on
\ncustomers' meters. Starting November, officials would have to
\nscan the bar code before they could enter the electricity usage
\nfigure into their Portable Data Entry (PDE) recorders.<\/p>\n
"That way, they will have to go to the houses," he said.<\/p>\n
Fahmi said that unprofessional meter readers were being
\npunished, with over 100 of them having been dismissed this year
\nup to September, Fahmi said.<\/p>\n
A woman from the audience said that she found she had Rp 12
\nmillion in unpaid bills after her meter records were corrected.<\/p>\n
Fabby Tumiwa of the Working Group on Power Sector
\nRestructuring, who attended the meeting, questioned which
\nelectricity rates would be used in calculating unpaid usage,
\nconsidering that they had changed considerably over the past few
\nyears.<\/p>\n
"How far back can PLN charge customers for unpaid usage?" he
\nasked.<\/p>\n
Fahmi said that if possible, different rates would be used in
\ncalculating the cost of electricity bill arrears.<\/p>\n
"They will be able to pay by installment," he added.<\/p>\n
During the forum, the YLKI also reported its findings based on
\ninput received during the so-called "electricity complaint
\nmonths", held from July to September. Blackouts, overly high
\nbills and incorrect meter readings topped the list of the 261
\ncomplaints the YLKI received, 126 of which were from Jakarta and
\n131 from Tangerang, Bekasi, Depok and Bogor.<\/p>\n
The foundation urged PLN to improve its complaint response
\nsystem. "There are disparities between the responses to these
\ncomplaints depending on who filed them, to whom, and in which
\nforum," said Sudaryatmo of the YLKI.<\/p>",
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