PJB books 64% rise in assets to Rp 8.2t

JAKARTA (JP): PT Pembangkitan Listrik Jawa-Bali (PJB) I, a subsidiary of the state-owned electricity company PLN, reported a 64 percent increase last year in the value of its assets to Rp 8.2 trillion (US$3.4 billion), PJB I's president said yesterday.

Firdaus Akmal said the increase resulted from the operations of the Suralaya V to VII combined-cycle power plants in West Java -- which have a total capacity of 1,800 MW -- and the Tambak Lorok, Central Java, and Grati, East Java, combined-cycle power plants.

He said PJB I made a Rp 350 billion net profit last year.

PJB I is one of the two subsidiaries established by PLN late 1995 as part of its privatization program. PJB I is managing the Suralaya coal-fired plant, Saguling hydro-power plant, both in West Java, the Tambak Lorok steam power plant in Semarang and steam and gas power plants in Bali.

Pembangkitan Listrik Jawa Bali II, the other subsidiary, is managing PLN's other power plants, including the Paiton coal- fired power plant, Karangkates hydro-power plant, Gresik steam power station, Grati steam power plant, all in East Java, and the Cirata hydro-power plant in West Java.

The two subsidiaries are among several state enterprises now preparing to go public. They are expected to float their shares on the domestic stock exchanges early next year.

Firdaus said that most of PJB I's profit came from electricity sales in Java and Bali. These two islands require 2,000 megawatts of electricity, with demand growing between 15 percent and 17 percent a year.

Firdaus said PJB I was developing more power plants to meet this growing demand. He predicted that, by the end of the Sixth Five-Year Development Plan in 1999, PLN would have increased the supply of electricity in Java and Bali by 8,000 MW.

The government said last year that it aimed to establish new power plants through PLN with a total capacity of 9,500 MW.

Other power stations, with a combined capacity of 3,000 MW, are to be built by private companies by March 1999.

PLN, which until 1991 had a monopoly on both electricity generation and distribution, plans to raise its generating capacity from 13,129 MW to around 39,000 MW by 2004.

PLN estimates it will cost US$60 billion to raise its generation capacity to 39,000 MW.

The government also plans to construct about 10,000 kilometers of transmission lines and 300,000 kilometers of distribution lines by 1999.

PLN president Djiteng Marsudi was quoted by Antara as saying yesterday that, besides floating its subsidiaries, PLN planned to establish joint ventures with foreign partners.

He said 13 umbrella cooperation agreements for projects had been signed by PLN and several international power companies.

"But (PLN) will be very careful in establishing these joint ventures and we will consult with other state-owned firms which have experience with this. We don't want PLN to feel cheated one day," he said.

"This must be a win-win situation," he added. (pwn)