Laksamana fires 4 PLN directors

Laksamana fires 4 PLN directors

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government announced on Monday a mass dismissal of top
managers and organizational restructuring at state-owned
electricity company PLN amid mounting public criticism that the
company was woefully inefficient.

Nevertheless, the current PLN president Eddie Widiono Suwondho
retained his post, but four of the company's five directors were
replaced.

Finance director Parno Isworo, who had also survived previous
management shakeups, managed to retain his post again this time.

The dismissal decision was signed by State Minister of State
Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi on Thursday.

The four outgoing company directors are planning director
Hardiv Harris S., operations director Bambang Hermiyanto Priyadi,
marketing and distribution director Tunggono and personnel and
organizational director Azwani Sjech Umar.

The government also restructured PLN's organization by
omitting the planning division and introducing the generation and
primary energy division.

Ali Herman Ibrahim was named as the director for the new
division.

The three other new faces include Herman Darnel as
transmission and distribution director (also a newly created
post), Sunggu Anwar Aritonang as commercial and customer service
director (new post), and Djuanda Nugraha Ibrahim as the personnel
and organizational director.

Eddie said that the change in the structure of PLN's
organization was aimed at improving efficiency, but he gave few
details of how that would be achieved.

"Having created the generation and primary energy division,
PLN can now focus more on how to improve efficiency in the
provision of fuel for its power plants," Eddie told reporters
after attending the inauguration ceremony of the new directors at
the office of the state minister of state enterprises.

Fuel costs has been the major production cost for PLN in
producing electricity power.

According to PLN's master plan, it is estimated that the
company will spend some Rp 34 trillion (US$3.82 billion), out of
total Rp 65 trillion budgeted for this year, in fuel costs alone.

Meanwhile, Roeswijaya, a deputy at the office of the state
minister of state enterprises, denied rumors that the major shake
up was a sudden decision, saying that it had been planned two
years ago.