71 villages in C. Java not yet electrified
71 villages in C. Java not yet electrified
Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang, Central Java
Central Java will carry out a community-based electricity
program, besides speeding up the establishment of several power
plants, to meet the increasing demand for power in the province,
says governor Mardiyanto.
"The provincial administration will encourage villages that
are not yet electrified to partly finance the program so that
they could enjoy electricity immediately," he said here over the
weekend.
He said that the 71 villages had not been electrified because
they were located in remote areas that could not be connected
with the power networks belonging to the state-owned PT PLN.
Mardiyanto explained that several villages could develop a
village cooperative to represent them to work with the local
administration to construct a power generator. He said the
village cooperative would manage the power plant and distribute
the power to the villages.
He also said that the demand for power had increased to 7,000
megawatts in line with the increasing number of factories and
households in the province. With the existing power plants, the
province can produce only 1,700 Megawatts.
To meet the increasing power needs, he said, the provincial
government had encouraged the central government and PLN to speed
up several power plant projects in the north and south of the
province.
"We are working hard to increase the province's production
capacity to around 5,500 megawatts with the new power projects in
the province," he said.
He cited the Tanjung Jati B power project in Jepara, which is
expected to produce 1,300 megawatts, the power project in Tambak
Lorok with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts, the power project in
Dieng, with 60 megawatts and the power plant project in Cilacap
recently inaugurated by President Megawati Soekarnoputri that
will have a production capacity of 6,600 megawatts.
The President also inaugurated Tanjung Jati A and Tanjung B
was inaugurated last month, he said: "We are seeking foreign
investors to invest in the power sector because it would give
benefits to the local administration."
The power plants in the province have also given a significant
contribution to the Java-Bali distribution networks, he added.
The governor said he had also asked the local PLN office to
enhance cooperation with the local police to curb rampant power
theft in the province.
Spokesman for the Central Java and Yogyakarta PLN region Embut
Subiyanto said that the police had arrested a number of people
for stealing power from the PLN network and a substantial number
of main circuit boards (MCB).
"PLN will continue to cooperate with the police to stop the
power theft and thieves, especially industries, should be given
harsher punishment and fines," he said.