Habibie's son heading trade delgation to Taiwan: Official
Habibie's son heading trade delgation to Taiwan: Official
JAKARTA (JP): Former U.S. secretary of state Warren
Christopher met President B.J. Habibie on Monday to discuss the
US$2.43 billion Paiton power project.
"We had an excellent meeting with the President and discussed
the electrical power situation in Indonesia," Christopher told
reporters after the meeting.
He, however, declined to give details of his visit and did not
take any questions from the media.
An official at the Ministry of Mines and Energy told The
Jakarta Post earlier that Christopher had been recruited as a
commissioner by PT Paiton Energy Co., which owns the 1,230-
Megawatt (MW) Paiton I power plant in East Java.
According to PLN data, the Paiton power plant in East Java is
majority owned by Mission Energy. The other shareholders are
Japan's Mitsui & Co. Ltd., and PT Batu Hitam Perkasa, controlled
by Hashim Djojohadikusumo.
The Paiton I power project is one of the 10 power projects the
government allowed to continue amid the monetary crisis but state
electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) is seeking to
reschedule it to rein in on the power oversupply on the Java-Bali
grid.
PLN is in dire financial trouble following the rupiah's
depreciation against the dollar since mid-last year. The company
sells power in rupiah, but pays most of its costs, including
purchasing power from independent power producers (IPP), in
dollars.
Director General of Electricity and Power Development at the
Ministry of Mines and Energy Endro Utomo Notodisuryo, who was
among those who accompanied Christopher to the palace, said
Christopher reminded Habibie of the need to maintain his good
image in the international community when dealing with problems
related to IPP.
"The president responded that he was aware of that," Endro
said.
PLN president Adhi Satria added that Edison Energy understood
the difficulties faced by PLN on the agreed price and the
distribution of the electricity.
"They are ready to renegotiate conditions for payment.
Technical aspects of the power deals will be discussed further,"
he said.
Adhi Satriya has said the first unit of the power plant is
scheduled to come on stream by early next year. (jsk)