PLN falls short of target<\/p>\n
Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Citing lack of funds, state utility company PLN will likely fail
\nthis year to push losses stemming from the depreciation of
\nchanneled power down to below 10 percent, an executive says.<\/p>\n
The power loss stands at above 10 percent at present, as
\nagainst the 9.84 percent target, PLN's marketing and services
\ndirector Sunggu Anwar Aritonang said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
"The network's improvement, including the construction of a
\nnumber of electrical relay stations, hit a snag when the
\n(allocated) budget had to be reallocated to cover operational
\n(costs)," said Aritonang.<\/p>\n
Some Rp 4.2 trillion (US$42 million) was initially earmarked
\nto lower the electricity loss, including network loss and power
\nthefts, from 11.47 percent at the beginning 2005 to the target.<\/p>\n
"However, PLN could only spare Rp 1.6 trillion to strengthen
\nthe system," said Aritonang.<\/p>\n
PLN has seen its power generation costs rising since March,
\nwhen the government raised domestic fuel prices by 29 percent.
\nThe government later decided that the firm must pay market prices
\nfor some three million kiloliters of over-quota petroleum-based
\nfuel this year and hiked fuel prices by another 126.6 percent on
\naverage in October, prompting even higher transportation costs.<\/p>\n
For next year, PLN has set the goal to push the loss to 9.74
\npercent, slightly lower than this year's target, said Aritonang,
\ndeclining to mention the amount of investment needed to attain
\nthe target.<\/p>\n
PLN suffered a net loss in 2004 of Rp 2.02 trillion, lower
\nthan Rp 5.09 trillion booked the previous year. The company,
\nhowever, was able that year to book a operational profit of Rp
\n2.56 trillion, the first time the operation went into the black
\nsince the 1997 monetary crisis.<\/p>\n
PLN's president director Eddie Widiono said on Sept. 22 that
\nin the current conditions it would be impossible for the company
\nto avoid an operational loss.<\/p>\n
PLN's director of primary power generation Ali Herman Ibrahim
\nsaid on Oct. 2 that due to the new policy on fuel used by
\nindustries, as well as more expensive coal, the firm's fuel costs
\nnext year would jump by 50 percent to Rp 45 trillion from Rp 30
\ntrillion spent throughout this year.<\/p>\n
PLN uses the more expensive petroleum fuel to fire up power
\nplants if electricity produced by utilizing hydropower,
\ngeothermal, gas, and coal proves to be insufficient. It usually
\nturns to oil-based fuels to fire its plants as power demand jumps
\nduring the peak hours between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.<\/p>\n
Although plants fired by oil-based fuel contribute only around
\n30 percent of the country's total power capacity, it makes up
\nclose to 70 percent of the nation's total power-generation costs.<\/p>",
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