PLN refuses to sell Paiton power plant<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President of the State Electricity Company (PLN)
\nDjiteng Marsudi said yesterday the firm would not sell its coal-
\nfired power station at Paiton, East Java, because it generated
\ngreat revenue.<\/p>\n
\"The 800-megawatt Paiton station is one of our most profitable
\nassets. No way shall we sell it,\" he was quoted by Antara as
\nsaying in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
Djiteng apparently made the statement in response to a
\nsuggestion that PLN sell some of its assets, notably its power
\nstation at Paiton, to improve its liquidity.<\/p>\n
Director General for Electricity Zuhal, who is PLN's chief
\nsupervisor, said over the weekend that the best way for the
\ncompany to solve its liquidity problem was to sell its Paiton
\npower plant.<\/p>\n
He proposed two other choices: selling shares to the public,
\nor getting additional equity funds from the government and
\nraising electricity tariffs.<\/p>\n
But Zuhal conceded these two choices were unfeasible because
\nPLN's poor financial performance disqualified it from going
\npublic, while the government could not give extra funds because
\nof budget constraints.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore, selling the Paiton asset is the best choice,\"
\nZuhal said last week.<\/p>\n
Djiteng said if PLN should sell its assets to solve its
\nliquidity problem, it would prefer selling non-profitable assets,
\ninstead of the profitable Paiton power plant.<\/p>\n
But he did not specify which of PLN's assets were
\nunprofitable.<\/p>\n
He said the cost of power generation at the Paiton power plant
\nwas only Rp 71.24 (US$0.03) a KWh, while it sold it for Rp 160.<\/p>\n
Zuhal blamed PLN's liquidity problem on its low rate of return
\non investments, and on its aggressive capacity expansion program
\nover the last two years.<\/p>\n
He said PLN's yearly profit was around Rp 1 trillion ($427
\nmillion), while it had invested more than Rp 8 trillion yearly.<\/p>\n
But Djiteng contended that PLN's liquidity had been improving
\nsince early this year.<\/p>\n
He said the government had let PLN convert its short-term
\nliability into a long-term one.<\/p>\n
PLN has two power units, each with installed capacity of 400
\nMW, at Paiton which is being developed into a huge electricity
\ncenter. (jsk)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pln-refuses-to-sell-paiton-power-plant-1447893297",
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