PLN denies giving contract to PT Enico

JAKARTA (JP): State electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) insisted on Wednesday that it would not compensate a local service company for the losses caused by the breach of a coal waste cleaning contract almost a decade ago.

PLN said in a statement that it was not responsible for the losses suffered by PT Enico National Development. Enico obtained the contract for cleaning coal waste at the coal-fired power plant in Suralaya, West Java, from another party rather than PLN.

The service company received the contract in 1989 from the Jakarta and West Java Thermal Power Projects committee which was formed by the Ministry of Mines and Energy and funded by the government, PLN said.

The committee later annulled the contract due to Enico's poor performance, PLN added.

PLN said it could not be held responsible for the action taken by the committee despite the fact that the Suralaya power plant belonged to the state company.

"PLN has never made any kind of legal connection/contract with Enico for the coal waste disposal work," PLN said.

Enico, insisting that it performed the job well and in accordance with the contract, filed suit against PLN in 1993 at the North Jakarta District Courthouse.

The company was dissatisfied with the court's ruling and appealed to the higher court.

Enico filed another appeal with the Supreme Court which later ruled in favor of Enico for Rp 1 billion.

Enico asked the Supreme Court to review its decision because it considered the compensation too low.

The Supreme Court agreed to review the compensation award and ultimately ruled to increase it to Rp 2 billion.

The Supreme Court issued a ruling in the middle of last year ordering the North Jakarta District Courthouse to confiscate PLN's bank accounts amounting to Rp 2 billion (about US$250,000) and present the funds to Enico.

But, the Supreme Court later asked the North Jakarta District Courthouse to cancel giving the money to Enico following a complaint by Minister of Mines and Energy Kuntoro Mangkusubroto who said it was the government rather than PLN which should have been held responsible for the project. (jsk)