PLN raises power rates by 17.47%<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government has allowed state electricity
\ncompany PT PLN to raise power rates starting on Sunday to help
\nease the state company's financial difficulties.<\/p>\n
PLN's president Eddie Widiono told reporters on Saturday that
\nPLN was allowed to increase its power rates by an average of
\n17.47 percent this year. This would be carried out by the state
\ncompany in two phases, that is this month and in October.<\/p>\n
He did not, however, specify the percentage increase for this
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
PLN president said all rates would be increased, except those
\nfor poor households, small businesses, or social institutions,
\nprovided they had an installed power capacity of 450 volt-amperes
\n(VA) and a maximum consumption of 30 kilowatt-hours (kWh).<\/p>\n
"The government has decided to keep power prices for these
\ntypes of costumer unchanged," Eddie said, adding that these
\ncustomers totaled 19.3 million, or 67 percent of PLN's total 28.9
\nmillion customers.<\/p>\n
Eddie said that under the new pricing scheme, rates for
\nhouseholds with an installed power capacity of 900 VA, which
\nconsume between 60 and 250 kWh, would jump by between 22.3
\npercent and 62.9 percent, starting in July.<\/p>\n
The rates would once again increase between 11.8 percent and
\n20.6 percent in October, he added.<\/p>\n
Rates for household customers with an installed capacity of
\n2200 VA, consuming between 450 and 1,050 kWh, would increase
\nbetween 33.9 percent and 35.9 percent in July and rise again by
\nbetween 9.7 percent and 12.9 percent in October, he said.<\/p>\n
Households with an installed capacity of 4400 VA, consuming
\nbetween 600 and 1,300 kWh, would pay a rate increase of between
\n23.8 percent and 24.8 percent in July, with another increase of
\nbetween 12 percent and 13.1 percent in October.<\/p>\n
Rate increases for industrial customers would range between
\n13.8 percent and 14.6 percent in July, and 3.6 percent to 4.2
\npercent in October, Eddie said.<\/p>\n
Rates for businesses would also increase, but rates for public
\nroad lighting would decrease, he said, without further
\nelaboration.<\/p>\n
PLN's data says industrial customers accounted for about 42
\npercent of PLN's revenue, households about 40 percent, businesses
\nabout 13 percent, public facilities three percent and social
\ninstitutions two percent.<\/p>\n
Eddie said that the increases would enable PLN to obtain
\nanother Rp 2.3 trillion (about US$201 million) in revenue in the
\nsecond half of the year but that, together with a subsidy of Rp
\n4.7 trillion promised by the government, would not be enough to
\ncover its projected losses this year.<\/p>\n
PLN would still suffer losses of about Rp 4.5 trillion at the
\nend of 2001, despite the rate increases and the government's
\nsubsidy, he said.<\/p>\n
The huge loss was because its sales would remain lower than
\nits production costs, despite the tariff increases, Eddie said.<\/p>\n
PLN, which was a profitable company prior to the economic
\ncrisis, has been suffering serious financial problems due to the
\nsharp depreciation of the rupiah against the dollar since mid-
\n1997.<\/p>\n
The state company sells its power in rupiah, but its costs are
\nmostly in dollars, including the purchase of power from
\nindependent power producers. (05)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pln-raises-power-rates-by-1747-1447893297",
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