Electricity theft costs PLN Rp 1b

Electricity theft costs PLN Rp 1b

BOGOR: The state electricity company, PLN, suffered more than
Rp 1 billion in losses due to the theft of power conducted by
factories and households in 2001.

Secretary of the local PLN office, Suargina, said on Tuesday
that the theft by factories inflicted Rp 806 million in losses on
the company, while the offense by households had caused PLN to
suffer about Rp 340 million in losses.

"They tampered with the meter or they took the power directly
from an electricity pole," he said.

He said, however, that so far, the thieves were never
prosecuted. "They were just told to pay fines."

He said that PLN, which serves about 500,000 households in
Bogor, generated 80 percent of its revenues from factories.--JP